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Cole Woodson

Ms. Starnes

Spanish 1

9/21/2017

Ted Cruz, born Rafael Edward Cruz on December 22, 1970 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada,

is one of the two incumbent senators of the state of Texas. He and has Cuban heritage on his

fathers side of his family, which despite being born in Canada and raised in Houston, makes him

Hispanic. Through all of the crazy conspiracies that have been pinned on him such as his father

killing former U.S. president John F. Kennedy, or him being the zodiac killer, he managed to

remain committed to preserve liberty and the American Dream for future generations

(www.tedcruz.org).

Cruzs father, Raphael Cruz, a Cuban native, allegedly was tortured in a Cuban prison

before coming to America with little more than the clothes on his back and a desire to live free

(www.tedcruz.org). His mother was the first person in her family line to graduate from college,

and was among the first generation of women working in computer programming. Cruz grew up

watching his parents work for everything that they gained, while breaking through barriers, and

overcoming many challenges. Cruz is married to Heidi Cruz, and together they have 2 daughters;

Carolina and Catherine, who are both young children.

Cruz has accomplished many things throughout his political career, but his

accomplishments dont start there. Cruz was accomplishing things before even graduating with

his class at Houstons Second Baptists High School, where he was valedictorian. He then went

on to become an award-winning debater at Princeton University, before continuing his education

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at Harvard Law school. After finishing his collegiate education, Cruz became a law clerk for

several judges, including William Rehnquist, a Supreme Court Justice, from 1996 to 1997.

Cruz got his political start as a policy advisor to 43rd president, George W. Bushs 2000

presidential campaign. Cruz also fought on behalf of Bush during the fight for a recount in the

swing state of Florida. Cruz went on to briefly become the associate deputy attorney general at

the Department of Justice, before becoming the director of the Office of Policy planning at the

Federal Trade Commission in July 2001. He successfully defeated collective bargaining

proposals between physicians and health care programs, as well as legislation that would have

curbed below-cost gasoline sales. In 2003, Cruz became the solicitor general of Texas, where he

argued eight cases before the Supreme Court. Among his many victories, was a case from 2008,

where he fought for the preservation of the death penalty.

Afterwards, Cruz left the political field briefly, before launching his campaign for the

Senate. Initially, not many thought he had a chance to take the seat from the incumbent senator,

and fellow Republican David Dewhurst. In the end Cruzs ultraconservatism won him the

support of Tea Party figures such as Sarah Palin and Rand Paul, who campaigned for him. Cruz

finished second place in the first round of voting, but ended up winning in the run-off election.

Ted Cruz has done an immense favor to the Hispanic-American community, from being

solicitor general of Texas to becoming a senator. The most interesting fact that I learned was that

he actually helped George W. Bush in his 200 Presidential campaign. I enjoyed learning about

all of the different positions he had, which to me was his biggest accomplishment. Transitioning

from a lawyer to a senator in 15 years is anything but easy.

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In conclusion, while some see Ted Cruz as some sort of joke, or even a meme, he has had

a tremendous impact on the world through the different positions he has held, as well as shaping

the thoughts of his followers. He has perpetually fought for what he believed to be right, even

when it was not the best for him. He has made the world a better place through his inspiration of

the youth to achieve great things.

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Bibliography

Home. Ted Cruz for Senate, www.tedcruz.org/.

Mead, Wendy. Ted Cruz. Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 May 2017,
www.biography.com/people/ted-cruz.