Ted Cruz is an American politician who has served as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election. Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to a Cuban father and an American mother. He attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where he was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he held various government positions, including Solicitor General of Texas. In 2012, Cruz was elected to the Senate, becoming the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. Senator from Texas.