Texas Senator Ted Cruz is set to announce his bid to run for the presidency in 2016 on Monday.
According to Fox News, the announcement would mean that he would be the first candidate to formally make his bid in the presidential race. Cruz will be at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia to make a speech and it is expected he will make the announcement during the speech.
Other rumored candidates for the GOP race included Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, and the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush.
Cruz’s campaign for presidency is also expected to begin immediately, even though candidates would normally begin with an exploratory committee before the actual campaign trail begins.
Opponents for Cruz’s bid have had issues with his citizenship since he was born in Canada. However, Cruz’s birth certificate was released showing his mother was a U.S. citizen.
Just last month, Cruz spoke about the issue at the Conservative Political Action Conference saying, “My mother was an American citizen by birth. Under federal law, that made me an American citizen by birth.” He renounced his Canadian citizenship last year.
ABC News reported that in addition to Cruz’s announcement, other candidates are expected to make their own presidential campaign announcements in April, including Hilary Clinton for the Democratic Party.
Cruz has been an outspoken opponent of President Obama’s plans for issues such as healthcare and immigration.