Senator Cruz was elected one of the two Senators from the state of Texas in 2012. Prior to taking a seat in the Senate, Senator Cruz served as the Solicitor General for the state of Texas for five years from 2003-2008 (the Solicitor General is the attorney tasked with representing the state during legal proceedings. For example, in a hypothetical case of Texas v. Smith, the Texas state Solicitor General represents Texas). He also clerked for J. Michael Luttig (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit) in 1995 and for United States Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1996. Senator Cruz studied at Princeton University for his undergraduate degree in Public Policy and attended Harvard Law School.
- Pro-life, with the only possible exception being when the pregnancy puts the mother’s life at risk.
- Opposes same-sex marriage, stating multiple times that the foundation of the United States’ society is the marriage between one man and one woman. Although he opposes same-sex marriage, he also believes it is a state’s rights issue, and as such, should not be decided by the federal government.
- Supports the use of the death penalty.
- Opposes raising the minimum wage, stating that doing so would harm the economy and kill jobs.
- In favor of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- Supports a flat tax and is opposed to all tax hikes, including income, capital gains, and death.
- Wants to balance the federal budget, mainly by cutting federal spending, and supports a balanced budget amendment.
- Among the most vocal opponents to President Obama’s health care reform. The main reason for the government shut down was to defund it, and Senator Cruz has sponsored legislation for its repeal.
- Opposes the Common Core national education standards.
- Staunch proponent for the Second Amendment and opposes restrictions to gun ownership, including voting “no” on banning high-capacity magazines of over ten bullets and being opposed to universal background checks for gun buyers.
- Opposes the legalization of marijuana and other drugs, but also believes it is a state’s rights issue, and as such, should not be decided by the federal government.
- Supports the expansion of off-shore drilling, as evidenced by his sponsoring Senate bill 2170 (the Keystone XL Pipeline bill), which would expand oil drilling both on- and off-shore, and would give states the power to regulate hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Although the bill passed both Houses of Congress, President Obama vetoed the bill, and the Senate failed to override the veto, leaving the bill dead.
- Supports stronger border control (he’s stated he wants to triple the size of the Border Patrol), including defunding amnesty for illegal immigrants and not providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently in the country.
- Supporter of Israel.
- Called ISIS the “face of evil” and believes the United States should “bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age.”
- In favor of sanctions on Russia for their involvement in annexing part of the Ukraine.
- Believes the United States should be a global leader and that the allies of the United States need our leadership.
- Opposes cutting defense spending.