Conservative firebrand Ted Cruz to announce presidential bid

AUSTIN, Texas, March 22 (UPI) -- Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will announce his bid for the Republican nomination for President of the United States Monday.

Cruz, 44, will not create a formal exploratory committee and will run as the first Republican candidate to announce directly, according to the Houston Chronicle.

He is expected to declare on Monday at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., which is the largest Christian university in the world with almost 14,000 campus students.

The first-term Senator galvanized the Tea Party community with his firebrand demeanor and conservative agenda.

He plans to raise up to $50 million in the primary campaign and will continue to appeal to conservative Tea Party members, the same people who helped him win the Senate election in 2012 as an underdog.

A CNN/ORC poll released on Wednesday put Cruz nearer to the lower end of presidential possibilities with only 4 percent of Republicans declaring their support. Former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush was highest with 16 percent and second-place Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., had 13 percent.

Cruz has battled President Barack Obama on issues ranging from the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order.

Cruz supports U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's preliminary injunction in February that blocked the implementation of Obama's immigration reform.

Texas and 25 other states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration in hopes to block the executive order, which seeks to give renewable work permits and deportation exemption to millions of undocumented people in the United States who meet certain criteria.