On March 22 2015 Ted Cruz gave the first announcement that he would try to be the nominee for his party in the 2016 presidential election. With the ball rolling many other politicians are announcing their candidacy.

CANDIDATES who have announced so far

Ted Cruz-March 22 2015, announced over Twitter

Rand Paul- April 7 2015, announced through his website

Hillary Clinton- April 12 2015, announced with a video

Marco Rubio- April 13 2015, announced during his call to donors

Dr. Ben Carson-May 4 2015, announced during a speech at CPAC

Carly Fiorina- May 5 2015, announced on Good Morning America

Here are things everyone should know about these candidates:

Hillary Clinton: Former Secretary of State and U.S. Senator, Clinton, a Democrat, was assumed to announce her presidential campaign even before the Midterm Elections. It was a running joke about her answers to her running for the 2016 presidential elections during the past summer, saying that she had already announced her presidential plans implicitly. Last month Clinton ran into some controversy following the discovery that she had used her personal email to send work emails. She has been able to gain the firm support of white working class  and college-educated women. At the same time she is trying to gain the support of blacks, young college-educated whites, and Hispanics for the election in November 2016 if she becomes the Democratic nominee.

Ted Cruz: Senator Cruz from Texas has served on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; the Committee on Armed Services; the Committee on the Judiciary; the Joint Economic Committee; and the Committee on Rules and Administration. Cruz was born in Canada leading to some wondering if he is legally allowed to run for the presidency. The constitutions definition of a “natural born citizen” has yet to be defined by the Supreme Court, leaving it open to interpretation. To win he would need to bring together Christian conservatives, libertarians and Tea Party supporters to support him on the road to November 2016.

Rand Paul: Senator Paul M.D. from Kentucky is a well renowned ophthalmologist who helped found the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic in his home state of Kentucky. Back in May of 2014 he performed pro-bono cataract surgeries on four uninsured patients in a clinic in Paducah, KY. Recently, Cruz has been in the news for his response during an NBC interview about changing his position over the years on big issues internationally. He told the interviewer to rephrase her question to say has he changed his opinion. Later on he corrected her again and accused her of editorializing him. Paul will need to bring together libertarians who supported his father, Ron Paul, Tea Party members who agree with his positions, blacks, and college students if he is chosen to be the Republican nominee.

Marco Rubio: Senator Rubio from his home state, Florida, announced his candidacy the day after Clinton. Rubio was previously the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. In the 2012 presidential election Rubio was almost the running mate of Mitt Romney but was questioned on how well vetted he was.  When being tapped to give the Republican response to this years State of the Union he got thirsty and furtively reached for his water bottle while not breaking eye contact. Rubio’s PAC response to this somewhat awkward moment was to make a branded water bottle for more than $10,000. He has already impressed moderates and satisfied conservatives and Tea Party supporters. He can appeal to the Hispanic population because he is fluent in Spanish. Currently he comes across as a fresh optimistic candidate for the presidential bid.