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 Cruz's unyielding tactics in Washington have made him a hero to
many on the Tea Party right, but he has yet to break into the front
ranks of what is shaping up to be a crowded field for the Republican
nomination.
Speaking at Liberty University, a Christian school founded by
televangelist Jerry Falwell, Cruz called for the support of
religious conservatives who play a major role in states with early
nominating contests. He discussed his Baptist faith in personal
terms and urged religious conservatives who have sat out recent
elections to get off the sidelines.
"God's blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this
nation, and I believe God isn't done with America yet," he said,
urging the crowd to imagine millions of people of faith going to the
polls and "voting our values."
Cruz's prominent role in the 2013 government shutdown made him one
of the better-known politicians in America even as he made enemies
in both parties on Capitol Hill. In a 21-hour talkathon on the
Senate floor, he chided the "cheap suits" and "bad haircuts" of some
politicians and read the children's book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr.
Seuss.
But the Harvard-educated son of a Cuban immigrant starts the race
for the November 2016 election as a second-tier candidate.
 Cruz came in third in an informal poll of activists last month at
the Conservative Political Action Conference, and Reuters/Ipsos
tracking polls show him statistically tied with five other potential
candidates, though well behind former Florida governor Jeb Bush and
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
As the first to jump into the race, Cruz will get extra attention
from the media and voters for several weeks as he tries to position
himself as the conservative alternative to more centrist candidates
like Bush and Walker.
Supporters aim to raise up to $50 million in the primary season,
though his prominent role in the 2013 government shutdown could cost
him support on Wall Street and in the business world.
"The Republican Party and the American people have to be able to
find a more qualified candidate for president than Ted Cruz," said
Republican Representative Peter King of New York, who also called
Cruz a "carnival barker".
Cruz is likely to do well with small donors and wealthy Texans, said
Atlanta fund manager David Panton, who has known Cruz since college.
"A lot of people wait to write the check until Ted has formally
announced," he said.
MOBILIZING THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said many
evangelicals have sat out recent elections because of their
disappointment with the more centrist candidates that have won the
party's nomination. About 40 percent of Republican primary voters
consider themselves evangelical or born again, according to
Reuters/Ipsos polling.
"If someone could mobilize that bloc, it would be amazing," Falwell
Jr. told Reuters.
That could help Cruz in early-voting states such as Iowa, where 57
percent of Republican caucus goers identified as evangelical or
born-again Christians in 2012.
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Cruz will likely have to compete for their support with former
Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who won Iowa in 2012, and former
Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who won in 2008.
"If he's the nominee, I absolutely, positively could back him 100
percent. But there are multiple good people running out there," said
Barb Heki, a Christian conservative who has been active in Iowa
Republican politics for 30 years.
Speaking without notes, Cruz employed the cadence of a preacher as
he described the religious journey of his father, who left the
family when Cruz was three years old but returned after joining a
Baptist church.
"If not for the transformative love of Jesus Christ, I would have
been ... raised by a single mom without my father in the house,"
Cruz said.
Five years after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care
Act into law, Cruz called for its repeal, as well as abolishing the
Internal Revenue Service and blocking same-sex marriage.
He cast divisive social issues in religious terms, referring to the
"sacrament of marriage" and the "sanctity of human life."
Cruz drew some of his strongest applause on Monday when he accused
Obama of playing down the religious elements of Islamic State and
fostering conflict with Israel, an important issue for evangelicals.
Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America said
wealthy Jewish donors were also impressed with Cruz after hearing
him speak about Israel at a November dinner.
"The only issue was, could this guy really win?" he said. "Did
anybody think Barack Obama could win when he was running? No."
Cruz's birth in Calgary, Canada, has raised questions about his
eligibility for the White House. The U.S. Constitution requires that
the president be a natural-born citizen. He gave up his Canadian
citizenship in 2014.
Cruz has said he qualifies by virtue of his mother having been an
American citizen by birth.
(Additional reporting by Emily Flitter, writing by Andy Sullivan;
editing by Howard Goller and Alan Crosby)
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