Texas politician Ted Cruz might be a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2016 elections, but how much do you really know about him? Despite the fact that Cruz has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Ted Cruz. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: His Real Name Is Not Ted Cruz. Cruz was born Rafael Cruz in Alberta, Canada, in 1970. Both of his parents were computer programmers who had moved to Alberta for the oil boom in the 1960s.
Number Fourteen: He Has Two Heroes. Cruz has said that the two main heroes in his life are his father and Ronald Reagan.
Number Thirteen: He Moved to Texas in 1974. Cruz and his family moved back to Houston, Texas in 1974, when Cruz was just four years old. Today, Cruz’s father, once a computer programmer, is a pastor at 74 years old.
Number Twelve: He Got American Citizenship Through His Mother. Though Cruz was technically born in Canada, he was able to obtain American citizenship through his mother as a newborn. His mother was born in Delaware, so she was American when he was born.
Number Eleven: He Memorized the Constitution. When Cruz was just a teenager, he memorized the Constitution. He then traveled across the United States with a group of high school students to recite it in front of audiences. The group called themselves the Constitutional Corroborators.
Number Ten: He Was Valedictorian of His Class. Cruz graduated from high school in 1988 as the valedictorian of his class. He attended the Second Baptist High School located in Houston, Texas.
Number Nine: He Was a Founding Editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review. Cruz graduated from Princeton undergrad in 1992 and moved onto Harvard Law School. While he was there, he became a founding editor for the Harvard Latino Law Review and reportedly only studied with people who had gone to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale for undergrad.