9 Things to Know About Presidential Hopeful Ted Cruz

Cruz's father, Rafael, is an evangelical pastor who was born in Cuba and fought in the revolution, escaping to Texas in 1957. When Cruz announced his presidential bid, he talked about how his father's escape from Cuba taught him about the power of Christianity. Meanwhile, his father has made headlines of his own in the past, unafraid to make controversial comments. In May 2014, he gave some voting advice to Christians, saying, "Let me shock you a little bit. Did you know that the Bible tells you exactly who to vote for?"

In October, Cruz participated in the Race For the Cure with his family in Houston. He posted a picture of the group, writing, "My mom's a 14-year breast cancer survivor, and we're all standing together to find a cure for this terrible disease."

In 2012, Tea Party favorite Cruz became the first Hispanic or Cuban American citizen to serve as a US senator from Texas, and that marked his first time ever being elected to office.

During a 2013 appearance on The Tonight Show, Cruz talked to Jay Leno about a few hot-button issues. Some highlights:

• On gay marriage: "I support marriage between one man and one woman. But I also think it's a question for the states. Some states have made decisions one way on gay marriage. Some states have made decisions the other way. And that's the great thing about our Constitution, is different states can make different decisions depending on the values of their citizens."
• On gun rights: "Do you target violent criminals, or do you try to take away the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens?"

He also sat down with Seth Meyers on March 17, saying that he and John McCain have become friends and clarifying his thoughts on same-sex marriage. "I'm a Constitutionalist," he said, adding, "It shouldn't be the federal government or unelected judging imposing their own definition of marriage. We should instead respect our constitutional system." Seth also challenged Cruz on how he feels about climate change:

• On global warming: "Debates on this should follow science, and should follow data, and many of the alarmists on global warming, they've got a problem because the science doesn't back them up . . . Satellite data demonstrates for the last 17 years there's been zero warming."