Ted Cruz announced today that he will be running for the office of president in 2016. Here are some interesting facts about Senator Cruz that you may not know about.

1. Ted Cruz set a few records as Texas solicitor general

He was the first Hispanic solicitor general of Texas. He was also the youngest person to become the solicitor general in the United States.

via ABC News

2. Cruz argued cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

Cruz has argued nine cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. This record of having argued before the Supreme Court nine times is more than any practicing lawyer in Texas or any current member of Congress.

via ABC News

3. Running for the Senate was his first political campaign

Before running and winning his Senate seat in 2012, he had never held an elective office before. His win was the biggest upset of the 2012 election.

via Allvoices

4. Ted Cruz was a law clerk for a chief justice of the Supreme Court

In 1996, Ted Cruz served as a law clerk to William Rehnquist. He was also the first Hispanic to clerk for a Chief Justice of the United States

via ABC News

5. Earned degrees from two Ivy League universities

Cruz graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University with a B.A. in Public Policy. His second degree is from Harvard Law School where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Juris Doctor degree.

via ABC News

6. Ted Cruz was born in Canada

Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada, in 1970. His parents were working in the oil business in Canada. His father was born in Cuba and his mother was born in Delaware - and he is a U.S. citizen because his mother was born in the United States. He held dual citizenship in both the United States and Canada until he revoked his Canadian citizenship in 2014.

via Allvoices

7. Cruz was a law professor

Before becoming a senator, Ted Cruz was an adjunct law professor. From 2004 to 2009, Cruz taught U.S. Supreme Court Litigation at the University of Texas.

via Allvoices

8. Won a debate national championship

Cruz, along with his classmate David Panton, won the American Parliamentary Debate Association national championship while at Princeton. Cruz was also named Speaker of the Year.

via Allvoices