--- title: Full Text of Sen. Ted Cruz's Campaign Launch at Liberty University description: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched his presidential campaign with a speech at Liberty University. Here is a transcript of his full remarks. canonical: https://time.com/3754392/ted-cruz-liberty-university-speech-transcript/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-23T15:39:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:31.871Z article:section: Politics og:title: Transcript: Read Full Text of Ted Cruz's Campaign Launch og:description: Here's what he told students at Liberty University. og:url: https://time.com/3754392/ted-cruz-liberty-university-speech-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: Senator Ted Cruz(R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Transcript: Read Full Text of Ted Cruz's Campaign Launch twitter:description: Here's what he told students at Liberty University. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51cde327ca519a2f/698784be5f570fd55db15df4/ted-cruz-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Transcript: Read Full Text of Sen. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 23, 2015 3:39 PM UTC  Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) delivers remarks before announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination to run for president on March 23, 2015, at Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Mar 23, 2015 3:39 PM UTC Sen. Ted Cruz [launched his presidential campaign](http://time.com/3754153/ted-cruz-campaign-launch-liberty-university/) Monday with a speech at Liberty University, a private Christian college in Virginia. Here is a transcript of the full remarks. --- > “” --- ### See 10 Presidential Campaign Launches  Mitt Romney launched his second campaign on June 2, 2011, in the first primary state, New Hampshire, with a scathing attack on President Obama's economic record. Stephan Savoia—AP  John McCain launched his second campaign on April 25, 2007, in New Hampshire with a speech that began with the Iraq War and foreign policy. Stephan Savoia—AP  Barack Obama launched his campaign before the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2007, with a speech that referenced Abraham Lincoln. Mark Cowan—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign on Jan. 20, 2007, by posting the words "I'm in" on her website. AP  John Kerry launched his presidential campaign on Sept. 2, 2003, in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., with a speech about the Iraq War. Lawrence Jackson—AP  June 16, 1999 Carthage, Tenn. Ron Edmonds—AP  George W. Bush launched his first campaign on June 12, 1999, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a speech about "compassionate conservatism." Harry Hamburg—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Bill Clinton launched his first campaign on Oct. 3, 1991, in Little Rock, Ark., with a speech about change. Cynthia Johnson—Getty Images  George H.W. Bush announced his first presidential campaign on Oct. 12, 1987, in Houston, Texas, with a speech about his work as vice president. Ed Kolenovsky—AP  Ronald Reagan launched his presidential campaign on Nov. 13, 1979,in New York City with a speech about the role of government. Walt Zeboski—AP --- > “” --- **Read More:** [How Ted Cruz Plans to Disrupt the GOP Presidential Primary](http://time.com/3753520/ted-cruz-presidential-run-campaign-2016/) --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3754392/ted-cruz-liberty-university-speech-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3754392/ted-cruz-liberty-university-speech-transcript/"},"headline":"Transcript: Read Full Text of Sen. Ted Cruz's Campaign Launch","datePublished":"2015-03-23T15:39:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:31.871Z","description":"Texas Sen. Ted Cruz launched his presidential campaign with a speech at Liberty University. 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