Ted Cruz
A fiercely intellectual and strategically bold conservative senator from Texas known for his constitutional firebrand rhetoric and pivotal role in shaping the modern Republican Party.
Born 1970 (age 56)·American politician and attorney·Birthday: December 22·Generation X
Biography
Ted Cruz arrived in the U.S. Senate with a reputation as a brilliant, combative advocate, forged during his tenure as Texas's Solicitor General where he argued multiple cases before the Supreme Court. His political style is one of deliberate confrontation, seeing himself as a principled insurgent against Washington establishment forces, even within his own party. This was crystallized in 2013 when he led a 21-hour floor speech opposing the Affordable Care Act, a move that contributed to a government shutdown. He carried that insurgent energy into the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, defeating Donald Trump in the Iowa caucuses and emerging as the last major challenger before ultimately endorsing his former rival. In the Senate, Cruz has focused on judiciary appointments, foreign policy, and economic deregulation, wielding his legal expertise to influence conservative policy. His career is a study in the power of ideological consistency and a willingness to leverage procedural tools and public debate to advance his vision, making him a polarizing but undeniably significant figure in American politics.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Ted was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ted Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Ted's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the Solicitor General of Texas, arguing nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and winning several.
- Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2012, becoming the first Hispanic person to represent Texas in that chamber.
- Won the Iowa Republican presidential caucus in 2016 during his bid for the White House.
- Played a key role in the confirmation of numerous conservative judges to the federal bench during the Trump administration.
Did You Know?
In college at Princeton, he was a national champion on the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's debate team.
He clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court after law school.
Cruz's father, Rafael, was a Cuban immigrant who fought in the Cuban Revolution before fleeing the Castro regime.
He released a podcast in 2018 called 'Verdict with Ted Cruz.'
““Imagine millions of courageous conservatives rising up together to say in unison, ‘We demand our liberty.’””
