Sen. Ted Cruz has positioned himself as the anti-establishment candidate - that is until truly anti-establishment, non-politicians like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina entered the race. Still, Cruz is continuing with the persona that he's built since his recent 2013 entry into the Senate as a firebrand willing to defy the advice and leadership of his Republican elders.
The junior senator from Texas has led a rebellious group of conservatives in Congress through more than one government shutdown showdown, including an attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and keeps that as a tool to defeat legislation he opposes.
He has taken that anti-establishment, anti-government message and built a presidential campaign based on it. The son of a pastor was the first to announce his candidacy, and he did so on March 23, 2015 at Liberty University, the staunchly conservative college in southern Virginia, which was also a signal to Christian conservatives that he was attempting to win their vote, too.
Since then he has championed social issues, including an effort to defund Planned Parenthood in Congress. He also rushed to Kim Davis' side when the county clerk in Kentucky refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"This is our fight," Cruz said at Liberty. "The answer will not come from Washington. It will come only from the men and women across this country … from people of faith, from lovers of liberty, from people who respect the Constitution."
Cruz has won four states, including his home state of Texas, so far in the primary contest. He is currently second behind Trump in delegates needed to win the nomination.
Sen. Marco Rubio was ridiculed by students, but said that most gun-control measures would do little good.
"The Nazis and Klansmen and white supremacists who gathered there — they're racists, they're bigots, they're idiots," Cruz said Wednesday.
Video
Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and other Republicans offer reaction to the Senate's "discussion draft" on health care, with some still concerned about the cost of premiums and others feeling reassured that an amendment process awaits.
Video
While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Texas Senator Ted Cruz discussed his proposed amendment on Congressional term limits a
Video
Texas Senator Ted Cruz says he had "very productive conversations" with President-elect Donald Trump, and he looks forward to working with t
Video
Texas Senator and former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz offers reaction to Donald Trump's final debate performance, including his ref
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who during the Republican presidential primary called Donald Trump a 'pathological liar,' endorsed the GOP nominee on Friday.
Video
Clinton says Sen. Ted Cruz was right in urging people to vote their conscience in November. Her opinion got lots of cheers instead of boos during a rally in Tampa.
Video
Sen. Ted Cruz says he won't vote for Hillary Clinton when a Texas delegate asks him specifically if he'll vote for Donald Trump.
Video
Speaking live on TODAY, Paul Manafort, chairman of the Trump campaign, reacted to Sen. Ted Cruz's non-endorsement of Donald Trump in his RNC speech.
Video
An MSNBC panel discusses the acrimonious history between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
Video
Sen. Ted Cruz didn't endorse Donald Trump as many Trump supporters had hoped but he did urge Americans to "vote their conscience" in November.
Video
The crowd began booing once Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledged he wouldn't be the GOP's presidential nominee. The boos grew louder once Cruz supporters noticed Trump's plane flying directly behind the backdrop of the stage.
Three sources, including one close to the Trump campaign, tell NBC News that Cruz is in negotiations for a speaking spot at the convention.
Federal Election Commission filings show that the Donald Trump campaign is staggeringly low on cash — and struggling at fundraising.
Among Cruz's Texas fleet of supporters, there is a stark divide in whether Cruz loyalists should hand their allegiances to Trump, even begrudgingly.
Ted Cruz suggested last month Republicans are "looking at a bloodbath of Walter Mondale proportions" if GOP voters send Donald Trump out of Cleveland as the party's nominee for president.
Video
Donald Trump is now softening his tone ahead of his meeting with Paul Ryan on Capitol Hill Thursday.
"I would note it's not a choice we as the voters have to make today," he said of the presumptive GOP nominee.