Republican Ted Cruz Announces White House Run

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has promised to "reignite the promise of America" as he announced his White House campaign, making him the first Republican contender to formally declare his candidacy.

He set out his case in a speech on Monday morning at Liberty University, an evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Mr Cruz, 44, began with a portrait of his family upbringing as the son of an American mother and Cuban-born father who found the American dream.

He was cheered as he spoke of repealing President Barack Obama's healthcare law, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, America's tax-collection agency, protecting gun rights and defending Israel.

Announcing his campaign, he said: "It's a time for truth, a time for liberty, it's a time to reclaim the constitution of the United States."

Mr Cruz has built a reputation as an unyielding advocate for conservative principles in his two years in the Senate.

As a presidential candidate, he is likely to position himself as the most reliable proponent of small government.

He would be the first Hispanic in the White House if he won the November 2016 election.

While he was born in Canada, two lawyers who represented presidents from both parties at the Supreme Court recently wrote in the Harvard Law Review that they think Mr Cruz meets the constitutional standard to run.

Mr Cruz wrote earlier on Monday on Twitter: "I'm running for President and I hope to earn your support!"

It was accompanied by a slick video set to images of farm fields, city skylines and American landmarks.

Though popular with hardline conservatives, Mr Cruz has often been dismissed by prominent members of the Republican party.

Fellow senator and former presidential candidate John McCain once described him as a "wacko bird".

Mr Cruz is not expected to be the sole contender for long.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and two Senate colleagues, Kentucky's Rand Paul and Florida's Marco Rubio, are eyeing campaign announcements soon.

By getting in early Mr Cruz is hoping to claim ownership of the Republican party's influential and vocal right-wing.