All together now

Q&A: Ted Cruz says a winning recipe for the GOP has to include both fiscal and social conservatives—and the nation’s naturally conservative Hispanics | Marvin Olasky

James Allen Walker for WORLD

Ted Cruz is running for the important position of attorney general of Texas, but his significance nationally may be even greater. Here are excerpts from our interview:

Q: How would you define yourself theologically and politically? I was raised a Christian and came to Christ at Clay Road Baptist Church in Houston. In terms of political views, I'm a plain and simple conservative: I'm a fiscal conservative, I'm a social conservative. I think there are absolute truths about what is right and about what works.

Q: You went to Princeton and won national and North American debate championships. I spent a lot of time, pretty much every weekend all four years of college, debating, and it was a wonderful experience. We did parliamentary-style debate: It was extemporaneous—you got your topic 10 minutes before the debate—so you had to learn to debate any proposition effectively and persuasively. That discipline was incredibly helpful in understanding the views of the other side.