Texas Senator Ted Cruz announced Monday he is running for U.S. president in the country's 2016 election.
Cruz had hinted he would formally launch his bid for the Republican Party nomination, and made it official in a message and video on his Twitter account just after midnight Monday.
"I believe in America and her people, and I believe we can stand up and restore our promise," Cruz says in the campaign ad, appealing to what he calls "a new generation of conservatives."
The 44-year-old first term senator is the first high-profile Republican candidate to formally join the race. Several other Republican contenders are expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Cruz, who joined the Senate in 2013 is a favorite of the conservative Tea Party. He wants to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, abolish the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service and scrap the Education Department.