IT BEGINS NOW: Conservative rebel, Sen. Ted Cruz becomes first Republican to announce presidential bid

Senator Ted Cruz, from Texas, has become the first Republican to announce a campaign for presidency in the 2016 election. Taking to Twitter, Cruz announced his candidacy with a 30-second video message posted shortly after midnight on March 23.

span style="line-height: 1.22;">LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Following his announcement, Cruz addressed a large crowd of college students at the largest Christian university in the world.

"These are all of our stories," Cruz said addressing the audience at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. "These are who we are as Americans. And yet for so many Americans, the promise of America seems more and more distant."

During his first speech as the first Republican candidate, he asked the audience, full of evangelical Christians, to imagine the U.S. under conservative leadership.

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Strongly known for his strict opposition to Obamacare and his shut down of the federal government, Cruz "presents a direct challenge to the expected bids of establishment Republicans," according to CNN. 

Cruz was described as a senator who "has gone against the tide" and a "man of great character."

"At the end of the day, it's listening to the people about the vision for turning the country around," he told CNN.

The Texas Senator has vowed to repeal "every word" of Obamacare as president and he continued to excite the crowd by prompting the audience to "imagine a President who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel."

Although Cruz faces a difficult race, being a first-term Senator with little experience against big names like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, his team remains hopeful that he will be able to capture the necessary votes.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll, Cruz is viewed in a positive light by 45 percent of Republicans, with 46 percent saying they haven't heard enough about him to form an opinion.

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