Texas’ Ted Cruz. Even hearing the name invokes passionate defense from his supporters and unending attack from his critics. He is identified with hardcore conservatives but has friends and enemies inside and outside of his party. And he’s running for President.

The two-year senator from Texas became the first major candidate from either major political party to announce his candidacy for the 2016 Presidential election, making his official announcement and posting other related material on Twitter.

“It is going to take a new generation of courageous conservatives to make America great again,” Cruz posted in a video on Twitter.

Most of Cruz’s stances align with the traditionally far-right, including a well-known crusade to eliminate the Affordable Care Act, advocation of further force against ISIS, and support of traditional marriage practice, among other issues. As potential Republican candidates go, he is generally considered among the most conservative and is often associated with the Tea Party wing of the GOP.

With other major Republican presidential hopefuls such as Jeb Bush or Chris Christie waiting in the wings and also expected to formally declare for the presidency at some point, Cruz’s first announcement allows him to garner additional attention for his campaign. Faced with a wide variety of potential challengers who have wider groups of support, Cruz may face a daunting task ahead of him if he is to compete for his party’s nomination.

However, the early declaration has also allowed him an exit from the current trend of political posturing as other candidates who will likely end up making important runs and impacts on the race delay announcing their candidacies for the sake of presentation with the media. Instead, analysts are often treated to language talking about “exploring the possibilities” of a campaign rather than a firm answer. By announcing first, Cruz has made it clear from what is still a relatively early point that he is in the field.

While perhaps not the candidate that will garner everybody’s support, it remains significant that the junior senator from Texas has officially put his name in the race.