There’s no doubt that we have an incredibly impressive group of GOP candidates competing for the 2016 presidential nomination. Several of the candidates bring their strong executive experience to the table while others are flexing their savvy business credentials. Of course, we certainly can’t forget about the brilliant brain surgeon who separated Siamese twins. This may be the MOST dynamic and talented group of Republican candidates in modern history (while the Democrats only have to offer voters an unabashed Socialist, and a corrupt elitist who is under criminal investigation).

Yet, many believe the most underestimated candidate in the GOP field may be Senator Ted Cruz. In fact, here are five reasons why he may very well be the just right guy at the right time

1. Cruz Is A Passionate Constitutionalist.

While President Obama spent his younger years being mentored by card-carrying communists (i.e. Frank Marshall Davis), domestic terrorists (i.e. Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn), and America-hating preachers (i.e. Jeremiah Wright), Ted Cruz was spending his youth memorizing precepts of our U.S. Constitution and marinating in free market principles.

At the tender age of fourteen, Cruz got involved with the Free Enterprise Education Center in Texas, and began standing in front of hundreds of business people to talk about free-market economics (yes, at the age of 14!). As a sophomore in high school, he also became involved in a program called the Constitutional Corroborators. This program consisted of five high school students who spent hundreds of hours studying the Constitution. When he wasn’t memorizing the Bill of Rights, Cruz was reading the Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, and the Debates on Ratification. He actually used the money he saved from his speeches (at Rotary, Kiwanis, Exchange clubs and the Chamber of Commerce) to help pay for some of the costs in his first year at Princeton University.

The son of a Cuban immigrant (his father escaped the tyranny of communism), Cruz has been fighting to defend our U.S. Constitution ever since his youth. He has consistently stood for our founding documents, free market principles, and our God-given liberties: in speeches he presented as a high school student, on his college debate team, in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, and on floor of the U.S. Senate. He’s certainly got the scars and the track record to prove it. To some, this may seem nerdy and archaic. But to those who cherish liberty, it’s incredibly refreshing.

There’s no doubt that Cruz is a rock solid Conservative. In fact, Heritage Action just recently gave him nearly a ‘perfect score’ on their Presidential Platform Review, explaining that:

Cruz advocates pro-growth policies, especially with regard to energy.

Cruz has fought to eliminate government-imposed barriers to opportunity.

Cruz promotes a robust civil society.

Cruz places a high priority on fighting the expansion of government.

Cruz has been willing to pay a political price for taking on government favoritism.

Cruz places a high priority on defending the nation’s security interests.

At a time when we have: 95 million people out of full-time work; government regulations that are completely out of control; a government that has become too bloated for its own good; politicians that no longer work for the people who elected them, and national security that is seriously compromised, Cruz is looking like a very formidable candidate right now.

2. Cruz Is Absolutely Brilliant.

As a child of two mathematicians, schoolwork always came easily for Cruz. Not to mention the fact that he has an “audio-graphic memory” where he can remember practically every conversation exactly the way it happened…as we saw on full display in CNBC GOP debate.

While a student at Princeton University, Cruz became a member of the debate team. In fact, he and his friend, David Panton, not only competed, but they won dozens of debate tournaments. Cruz and Panton also won “Team of the Year,” which is awarded only to the top debate team in the entire country.

Cruz also won “Speaker of the Year” at Princeton University.

Huffington Post editorial director Howard Fineman stated that Cruz’s professors were all in awe of his intellect:

“At Harvard Law School, he was — the professors were in awe of his intellect. Even if they disagreed with him, which they did vehemently, these people knew that — this guy was trained under the Federalist Society second-generation Republican wave. In other words, not the Reagan years, but these years.”

Even Liberal Harvard Law professor, Alan Dershowitz said that, “Ted Cruz was among the smartest students he ever taught.” Dershowitz also said that he and Cruz would debate while the rest of his class would watch them.

We can just imagine what Cruz can accomplish when he brings his brilliance, ‘audio-graphic’ memory, and dynamic speaking skills to the Oval Office in 2017.

3. Cruz Has An Extraordinary Resume.

Graduated valedictorian in 1988 from Second Baptist High School

Graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1992

Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1995

1992 U.S. National Debate Champion representing Princeton

1995 World Debating Championship semi-finalist representing Harvard

Served a law clerk to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, making him the first Hispanic ever to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States

Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 – May 2008, Cruz was the first Hispanic Solicitor General in Texas, the youngest Solicitor General in the entire country, and had the longest tenurein Texas history.

Partner at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he led the firm’s U.S. Supreme Court and national appellate litigation practice.

Cruz has authored 80+ SCOTUS briefs and presented 40+ oral arguments before The Court

Described as a ‘superb‘ constitutional lawyer, the man’s considerable skills and laser-like focus were on display at the GOP debate.

In the landmark case of District of Columbia v. Heller, Cruz assembled a coalition of 31 states in defense of the principle that the 2nd Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.

Cruz presented oral argument for the amici states in the companion case to Heller before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In addition to his victory in Heller, Cruz has successfully defended the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools and the majority of the 2003 Texas redistricting plan.

Cruz also successfully defended, in Medellin v. Texas, the State of Texas against an attempt by the International Court of Justice to re-open the criminal convictions of 51 murderers on death row throughout the United States.

Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission

Domestic Policy Advisor to U.S. President George W. Bush on the 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign.

Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Ted Cruz is currently junior US Senator from Texas. In order to win the 2012 Republican nomination for the Senate seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison, Cruz had to defeat Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst -heavily favored/backed by the DC old-guard GOP- in the Republican primary runoff. In the event, TEA Party favorite Cruz crushed Dewhurst, 57-43%… he then beat Democrat Paul Sadler in the general election by a similar margin, 56-41. Cruz is also endorsed by the Tea Party Movement and the Republican Liberty Caucus.

AWARDS: “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business,” Chambers USA (2009 & 2010) “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America,” National Law Journal (2008) “25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century,” Texas Lawyer (2010) “20 Young Hispanic Americans on the Rise,” Newsweek (1999) Traphagen Distinguished Alumnus, Harvard Law School

Some may argue that, like Obama, Senator Cruz lacks the executive experience to be a successful president. However, it’s not President Obama’s lack of executive experience that has done great damage to the U.S., it’s his radical leftist ideology. Not only is Senator Cruz dedicated to upholding the rule of law and preserving the Constitution, he has an incredibly impressive resume that demonstrates his ability to lead this country.

4. Cruz Is A Principled Fighter.

Throughout his career, Cruz has been a passionate fighter for religious liberty, the Second Amendment, limited government, and economic freedom. During Ted’s service as Solicitor General, Texas achieved an unprecedented series of landmark national victories, including successfully defending:

U.S. sovereignty against the UN and the World Court in Medellin v. Texas;

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms

The constitutionality of the Texas Ten Commandments monument;

The constitutionality of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance;

The constitutionality of the Texas Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment law; and

The Texas congressional redistricting plan.

As U.S. Senator, Cruz has also led battle after battle to uphold the rule of law and protect the Bill of Rights.

There are those who would argue that he Cruz is ‘too divisive’ to win many voters in the general election. It may be true that he is not likely to win a popularity contest in Washington, D.C. But that’s exactly what the grassroots LOVE about him.

As U.S. Senator, Cruz says he has tried to do two things: tell the truth, and do exactly what he said he would do. After all, we should expect that from every elected official.

The Texas Senator has also shined some light on the shady backroom deals in Congress (between Republicans, Democrats, and Lobbyists who keep them in office). As a result, more Americans have gotten an inside glimpse of what is broken in our nation’s capital.

In his book, A Time for Truth, Cruz writes:

“Telling the truth in Washington, D.C. is a radical act. And it earns you the enmity of career politicians in both parties. When you tell the truth about Washington—you expose the fact that elected officials are misleading the voters who elect them—you pay a price.”

And Cruz certainly has. The first method of punishment he incurred was the public flogging (especially from Republican leadership). The second method of punishment was the stripping of his campaign money. Luckily for him, he still had plenty of contributions coming in (from all around the country) from the grassroots. Cutting off his campaign money wasn’t going to deter him from speaking the truth.

Cruz also writes:

“Folks in our nation’s capital perpetually grow the size and power of the government because that’s the easiest thing to do. Fighting for principle, fighting against a powerful media, and even sometimes against popular big-spending proposals—well, that’s a lot harder. Far too much decision-making revolves around lobbyists and the entrenched political powers, which means that the only way to enact meaningful change is to fundamentally change the rules.”

Outside the Beltway, it is obvious to everybody that Washington is broken, and that it’s not committed to solving real problems we face. No matter what politicians say on their campaign trail, it seems that once they get to Washington they almost always forget the people who elect them. All across America, you hear the same thing, from Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians: our elected officials aren’t listening to us.

Cruz further explains:

“The biggest divide in politics is not between the Tea Party and the establishment. It is not even between Republicans and Democrats. The biggest divide is between career politicians—in both parties—and the American People. There is a fundamental corruption in Washington—those in power get fatter and happier while the rest of America suffers as a consequence of their policies. I’ve seen it firsthand. The counties surrounding the nation’s capital—where most legislators and lobbyists live—are soaring in median income, while the median income for American families has stagnated nationwide. Indeed, five of the six wealthiest counties in the entire country are suburbs of Washington.”

Cruz is genuinely fighting for the people who elected him, and that’s actually great for America.

5. Cruz’s Fundraising Is Historical.

Cruz has certainly been applying some of his intellect to his campaign strategy. Carefully studying previous presidential campaigns (including Obama’s) he is using keen insight to determine which campaign strategies work best and which ones fail miserably. He also flies commercial airlines to events in order to save cash.

As the Washington Post points out, “Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton get all the headlines. Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders get all the buzz. But Ted Cruz is running the best campaign of the any of the 19 people seeking the presidency.”

Cruz has been a fundraising phenomenon. He has cash coming in from 58% of the U.S. zip codes at an average of $73 per contribution. Over 360,000 contributions have been made at https://www.tedcruz.org. His campaign has more cash on hand ($13.8 million) than any other Republican in the field, including Jeb Bush. In fact, some financial experts claim that he is running his campaign much like a Fortune 500 company.

The way he is running his campaign just may be a glimpse of how ‘President Cruz’ will run the United States. And this feisty Texas Senator may very well have a good shot at winning.

And summarizing from the Dallas Observer: “THIS IS NOT A DRILL. TED CRUZ IS WELL POSITIONED IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE.”