Texas Senator Ted Cruz will announce Monday that he is running for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, CNN reports.  The first-term Senator will make his announcement at Liberty University in Virginia.  This declaration will make Cruz the first major candidate to officially launch a 2016 presidential campaign.  There are approximately 595 days until the 2016 presidential election.

It is expected that numerous other Republicans will follow in the weeks ahead.

With the usual caveat that polling is of limited predictive value this far out: Cruz has been averaging just under 5% in recent national Republican primary polls, in a group of hopefuls that have gotten some support but are trailing leaders Scott Walker and Jeb Bush. Looking to the general election, should it be Cruz vs. Hillary Clinton, early polling has Clinton with the advantage.