“North Dakota has risen as a powerful energy haven,” said Cruz, adding that its status would be at risk if Democrats hold the White House in this year’s election.

Cruz said, if elected, he’d rein in the EPA, repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, institute a flat tax and beef up the United States military.

He went on to say the GOP should be proud this cycle of starting the presidential race with a diverse field of 17 candidates. Cruz said the Democrats have paled in comparison.

“The Democrats have a wild-eyed socialist whose ideas are dangerous … and Bernie Sanders,” Cruz said.

Cruz sought to compare the current election to one a generation ago, saying the country’s future is at stake.

“It took Jimmy Carter to give us Ronald Reagan,” Cruz said. “Obama’s legacy will be a new generation of Republican leaders.”

Cruz was born in Calgary and is a first-term senator from Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He later served as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

He served as an adviser on former President George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000.