Throughout his life, Ted Cruz has proven to be a passionate and effective fighter for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution. Ted’s calling to public service has been inspired by his firsthand observation of the pursuit of freedom and opportunity in America. Ted’s mother, Eleanor, was born in Delaware to an Irish and Italian working-class family. She became the first in her family to go to college, graduated from Rice University with a degree in mathematics, and became a pioneering computer programmer in the 1950s. After being tortured and imprisoned in Cuba, Ted’s father, Rafael, fled to the United States to attend the University of Texas at Austin in 1957. He then started a small business in the oil and gas industry. Today, Ted’s father is a pastor in Dallas. Growing up, his father would often say to him: “When we faced oppression in Cuba, I had a place to flee to. If we lose our freedom here, where do we go?” Ted has been a tireless fighter for liberty because his family knows what it is like to lose it. Ted has proven to be the exact type of courageous conservative we need in the U.S. Senate to restore economic growth, defend our Constitution, and protect the values we all hold dear. Ted, his wife Heidi, their two daughters Caroline and Catherine, and his entire family have been blessed to live the American Dream — the idea that anyone, through hard work and determination, can achieve anything. And he is committed to ensuring every family has that same opportunity.