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Heidi Cruz

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Heidi Cruz
File:Heidi Cruz.png
Personal details
Born
Heidi Louise Suzanne Nelson

(1972-08-07) August 7, 1972 (age 52)
San Luis Obispo, California,
U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseTed Cruz (m. 2001)
Children2
Alma materClaremont McKenna College
Free University of Brussels
(French)
Harvard University

Heidi Suzanne Cruz (née Nelson; August 7, 1972) is an American investment manager at Goldman Sachs. She is the spouse of Republican Texas senator, 2016 U.S. presidential candidate, and possible identity of the Zodiac Killer Ted Cruz.[1][2]

Background and education

Heidi Suzanne Cruz was born on August 7, 1972 in San Luis Obispo, California, and grew up in a Seventh-day Adventist family. Her parents, Suzanne Jane (née Rouhe), a dental hygienist,[3] and Peter Christian Nelson, a dentist with a practice in San Luis Obispo,[4][5] participated also in volunteer missionary dental work.[6][7][8][9] Their two children (Scott and Heidi) accompanied them on numerous missionary trips, including to Nigeria and Kenya.[1][10][11] [12] Her brother, Scott C. Nelson, today is an orthopedic surgeon and humanitarian.[13][14] Her Finnish-American maternal grandfather served for 22 years as a missionary physician-cum-clergyperson in the former Belgian Congo.[15]

Cruz announced in fifth grade that she intended to attend Harvard Business School one day, her mother reflecting that she was unsure of how her daughter knew of the school and described her as "driven".[16] Cruz's political interest developed when she traveled to Washington with her parents at age 8,[16] and grew when she was age 12 and read an issue of Time magazine concerning the 1984 presidential election, while working at a bread stand.[17]

She graduated with a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Claremont McKenna College in 1994. She was active in Claremont McKenna's Republican group and according to her mentor Edward Haley, she had an interest in appointive office.[16] During her time at Claremont McKenna College, she studied abroad at the University of Strasbourg.[18] In 1995, she received a Masters of European Business from Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium and in 2000, she graduated with a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.[1][11][19]

Career

In 2003, she worked for the Bush administration on economic policy,[1][20] eventually becoming the director for the Western Hemisphere on the National Security Council under National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice in 2003.[1][19][21] Cruz remembered liking her tenure with the Bush administration and found her work to be "personally fulfilling."[22] After commuting to see her husband for a year,[23] she left Washington DC in 2004 to support his run for elective office in Texas.[24] Cruz did not see this as her giving up her career but merely as relocating, and she took her time to become use to the new environment, initially difficult since most of her family was in California and she had several colleagues in New York.[22]

In 2005, she joined Goldman Sachs, serving as a private wealth manager[25] and is currently the Region Head for the Southwest Region in the Investment Management Division of Goldman Sachs in Houston.[1][19][26] Peter Conway, Cruz's employer, assisted in her recruitment and was impressed by her being among the first to arrive and last to leave, remembering her doing well in a field of men. Conway would later recommend her to lead the office. Cruz used politics to gain common ground with her clients and deployed her husband to join her in meeting with potential investors.[23] She had served as vice president for seven years before the promotion in 2013.[27] She took a leave of absence without pay for her husband's 2016 presidential campaign.[24]

Involvement in 2016 campaign

Ted Cruz said that the decision for him to run a presidential campaign was difficult for his wife, explaining that it was hard for her to make a commitment when already having a successful business career and being the parent of two young children, but that she changed her mind after listening to a CD from her sister-in-law.[16]

Cruz was present at her husband's presidential candidacy announcement in March 2015. During the campaign, she has worked to make Senator Cruz appealing to female voters and became the presidential campaign's most prolific fundraiser,[28] making 600 calls over a quarter and aiming to make 30 calls a day, though typically only reaching 20 to 25. Cruz elaborated that her calls were to "max out donors" and on some occasions, could go on for 45 minutes in what she dubbed "a long conversation."[29] Cruz campaign chairman Chad Sweet compared Heidi's working "the phones" to her tenure at Goldman, adding, "There are very few spouses who can get on the phone on a cold call to a prospective donor and make a more compelling case in a personal and effective way than Heidi Cruz."[30] It was later reported that she was making calls based on donor lists provided to her by a super PAC.[31]

Cruz attended both the first and second Republican presidential debates, her husband introducing himself during the second debate as "husband to my best friend" and clarifying it was her.[32] Cruz believes she is different from her husband in having a "warm personality" whereas she viewed her husband as being "great one-on-one", "on stage" and "in a small group", but also shy.[33] She has made multiple solo public appearances, campaigning on her husband's behalf.[34] Former George W. Bush administration official Sara Fagen said she was successful in softening her husband's image, which she further argued was essential for "a candidate whose main obstacle to the Republican nomination may be tone and personality", though former Mitt Romney consultant Katie Packer argued her help could only go so far and voters would not support a candidate based on their spouse.[35]

In August 2015, when asked what her role would be as First Lady, she expressed an intent to raise "the standard of living for those at the bottom of the economic ladder in this country" as her interest fell on "the economic side".[36] Ted Cruz's father Rafael Cruz has also been involved in the campaign. His involvement, along with Heidi Cruz's, led Katie Glueck of Politico to conclude that out of the presidential candidates, no other had more prolific family involvement than Ted Cruz.[37] Kelly Riddell of The Washington Times noted Cruz was different from most political spouses due to her large role in her husband's campaign, dubbing her an "integral part" of it.[38]

In November 2015, she had a two-day trip to Alabama, during which she dropped off the signatures and check required for her husband to appear on the state's ballot to the Alabama Republican Party headquarters in Hoover.[39] Cruz's comment that her husband had "maintained his voting record at the same time in the Senate" was interpreted as being a dig at Marco Rubio's record on voting during his own presidential campaign,[40] and also being a contrast to her husband's position of not making any disparaging comments about other candidates.[41] Two months later in January, Cruz would reaffirm her husband's position and state the campaign was "of issues" and not "personalities", furthering, "We have great respect for all the candidates who have taken this great journey to try and make our country a better place.”[42] That month she also expressed her liking for Donald Trump's television series The Apprentice, an admiration noted while Trump was leading in Iowa polls along with her husband.[43]

On December 3, Cruz returned to Texas and filed paperwork for her husband's name to appear on the state ballot. She acknowledged she had previously filed for his name on ballots in previous states, but also said the Cruz campaign had "a campaign strategy that's built to last, and we have built a grass-roots army that this country hasn't seen since Ronald Reagan."[44][45] It was noted at this time by Patrick Svitek of The Texas Tribune that she had become more visible in the past few months after spending the initial months of the campaign playing a behind-the-scenes role,[46] Cruz shortly afterward making televised, solo appearances on Fox Business Network[47] and KTRK-TV.[48]

In January 2016, after her husband's eligibility to run for the presidency was questioned by several other Republicans,[49] Cruz defended his legality, calling the questioning an indication of her husband winning and his contenders and detractors feeling a need to try to defame him as a result. Cruz called her husband's legality indisputable and noted Republican presidential candidates John McCain and George Romney were born in the Panama Canal Zone and Mexico.[50] Cruz would further that her husband had been cleared of any issue regarding his legality in the past, which contributed to her view that his eligibility would not hurt the campaign and that questions over if her husband was a natural born citizen was an "example of distractions."[51]

Early voting states

Leading up to the state caucus, Cruz stumped for her husband in Iowa, making a joint appearance with her husband in Keokuk on October 10,[52] having made multiple appearances by December[53] and appearing at the home of Representative James Lyons on January 8.[54][55] Cruz's joint appearances with her husband continued into January when she joined him for the last day of his bus tour around Iowa, telling voters that she hoped they would support him if they had "fallen in love" with him as she had.[56] Ted Cruz won the state in the February 1 primary, Heidi Cruz later saying the state was won through "one strong voice of the people coming together".[57] For New Hampshire, another early primary state, it was reported in January that she would make stops there to rally support for her husband.[58] In February, Cruz was reported to be headlining a luncheon for Republican women in Reno, Nevada days before the state's primary[59] and appearing on the campus of Lander University prior to the South Carolina primary.[60] She also joined her husband in dining with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley ahead of the state's primary in an attempt to get her endorsement for the campaign. Haley would ultimately support Marco Rubio.[61] She appeared in Spartanburg to rally support for Ted Cruz, urging potential voters to help him win the state, which she thought would have been a "game changer" for the rest of the primary.[62] Cruz's plans to journey to southern states ahead of Super Tuesday were reported in later that month,[63] which included a campaigning event in Beaumont, Texas on February 26.[64]

Personal life

Marriage

Nelson met Ted Cruz while the two were working together on George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.[1][65] Ted later admitted to being embarrassed over taking two days to ask her out. Friends and colleagues of Heidi say that she is an intellectual equal to Cruz. Heidi married Ted on May 27, 2001.[11][66][67] She now shares her husband's religious affiliation.[68][69]

In April 2008, Cruz gave birth to her first child, Caroline Camille. Her second daughter, Catherine Christiane, was born in 2011.[70] Cruz's motherhood was expected by associates to derail her career, but the hiring of several caregivers prevented this.

In 2012, it was widely reported, she agreed to cash in the couple’s entire liquid net worth to finance his Senate campaign in 2012. She saw this as an investment through her experience as a Goldman Sachs banker.[21] In January 2016, questions were raised on the front page of the New York Times as to whether the couple did actually cash in their entire liquid net worth, and it was revealed that the campaign was also financed by a previously undeclared loan Heidi took from Goldman Sachs. Addressing the matter, Cruz reflected that the couple had stalled their lives and finances for his campaign for the U.S. Senate, for which she concluded Texans were thankful.[71]

Ted Cruz, an opponent of federal health insurance support, has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike for wanting to remove federal health care support from members of Congress and their staff. In 2013, it was revealed that he was on Heidi’s health insurance through Goldman Sachs, worth at least $20,000 a year. While the couple has maintained that the plan is a personal decision and what works best for the family, it angered members of Congress and staff who maintain that relying on federal healthcare is no different than what employers usually provide for their employees.[72] Heidi’s unpaid leave of absence from Goldman Sachs for Ted’s presidential campaign has resulted in receiving no company benefits including health insurance.[73]

Depression

In the early years of her marriage, Cruz suffered from depression and in August 2005 was found by a police officer sitting on a grassy verge by a public highway. Jason Miller, her husband's adviser, said that she had experienced a bout of depression at that time similar to that of "millions of Americans" and that she had overcome it with "prayer, Christian counseling, and the love and support of her husband and family.”[74] Cruz's husband recalled her having a difficult time moving to a new state, "away from so many people she loved", attributing her depression to the adjustment. Ted remembered praying with Heidi and her attending counseling as well as relying on the support of her friends and family. In hindsight, he believed the period strengthened their marriage and was "an important spiritual turning point for us both."[75][76] Cruz called her husband supportive of her at the time she was suffering and though admitting she had not been depressed for a prolonged time, said she hoped to use the experience to "strengthen people around me and to recognize that we all have rough patches.”[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Zezima, Katie; Post, The Washington. "Heidi Cruz Tries to Close Her Biggest Deal: Making Ted Cruz President, by Katie Zezima, The Washington Post". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  2. ^ "Ted Cruz Fast Facts - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  3. ^ "Heidi Cruz, a San Luis Obispo native, campaigns now as wife of a presidential candidate". fresnobee. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  4. ^ "Heidi Nelson Cruz's San Luis Obispo roots shaped her career, marriage to Tea Party darling". sanluisobispo. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "The Definitive, Categorical, Alphabetical Guide to our Next First Lady…Or Man". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
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  8. ^ "Heidi Nelson Cruz's San Luis Obispo roots shaped her career, marriage to Tea Party darling". sanluisobispo. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  9. ^ "Peter C. Nelson, DDS | School of Dentistry | Loma Linda University". dentistry.llu.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  10. ^ Moore, Martha T. (March 23, 2015). "Who is Heidi Cruz?". USA Today.
  11. ^ a b c Parker, Ashley (2013-10-23). "A Wife Committed to Cruz's Ideals, but a Study in Contrasts to Him". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  12. ^ "Heidi Nelson Cruz's San Luis Obispo roots shaped her career, marriage to Tea Party darling". sanluisobispo. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  13. ^ "Peter C. Nelson, DDS | School of Dentistry | Loma Linda University". dentistry.llu.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
  14. ^ American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2014-03-14), 2014 AAOS Humanitarian Award: Scott C. Nelson, MD, retrieved 2016-02-16
  15. ^ "Olavi Johannes Rouhe's Obituary on The Press-Enterprise". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
  16. ^ a b c d Zezima, Katie (January 8, 2015). "Meet Heidi Cruz: Hard-charging career woman, but first a loyal spouse".
  17. ^ "Heidi Cruz, a San Luis Obispo native, campaigns now as wife of a presidential candidate". Fresno Bee. April 18, 2015.
  18. ^ vimeo.com/12926194
  19. ^ a b c "Board of Directors & Staff | Greater Houston Partnership". www.houston.org. houston.org. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  20. ^ "Heidi Cruz".
  21. ^ a b "The New Power Wives of Capitol Hill". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  22. ^ a b "Heidi Nelson Cruz Discusses Her Husband, Her Career and Campaign Fund-Raising". New York Times. January 18, 2016.
  23. ^ a b c "Heidi Nelson Cruz: A Political Spouse Making Sacrifices and Courting Donors". New York Times. January 18, 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Who is Heidi Cruz?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  25. ^ Gross, Daniel (January 14, 2016). "For Ted Cruz and Chris Christie, Their Wives Are Their 'Secret Weapon'". fortune.com.
  26. ^ Moore, Michael J. "Cruz's Wife Heidi to Take Unpaid Leave From Goldman". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  27. ^ Cleary, Tom (March 23, 2015). "Heidi Nelson Cruz, Ted's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.
  28. ^ Fineman, Howard (November 6, 2015). "What The Rise Of Two Young Cuban-Americans Says About The GOP's Future". The Huffington Post.
  29. ^ Zezima, Katie (September 14, 2015). "Heidi Cruz trying to close her biggest deal: Making her husband president". The Washington Post.
  30. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (August 21, 2015). "Meet Ted Cruz's top fundraiser: his wife". CNN.
  31. ^ "Heidi Cruz is asking super PAC donors to donate to her husband's campaign. Here's why they say that's OK". The Washington Post. October 15, 2015.
  32. ^ "Wednesday's GOP debate transcript, annotated". The Washington Post. September 16, 2015.
  33. ^ Zezima, Katie (September 14, 2015). "Heidi Cruz a Potent Weapon for Husband's Campaign". The Texas Tribune.
  34. ^ Sain, Aurora (October 21, 2015). "Republicans seek military caucus vote". The Record Courier.
  35. ^ "Heidi Cruz tries to rebuild bridges her husband burned on his way to the White House". rawstory.com. December 15, 2015.
  36. ^ Burton, Cassie (August 12, 2015). "Heidi Cruz: Husband is attracting 'crossover votes'". MRT.com.
  37. ^ Glueck, Katie (November 28, 2015). "Cruz campaign puts family out front". Politico.
  38. ^ Riddell, Kelly (December 7, 2015). "Heidi Cruz, wife of Ted Cruz, an intellectual equal, campaign asset". The Washington Times.
  39. ^ Toner, Casey (November 5, 2015). "Ted Cruz's wife Heidi Cruz rallies Mobile supporters". AL.com.
  40. ^ Quinn, Stephen (November 4, 2015). "Heidi Cruz visits Hoover, files papers for husband to enter Alabama Republican primary". ABC3340.
  41. ^ "Cruz: I Will Take 'High Road' During Primary Fights When Things Get Ugly". The Daily Caller. May 9, 2015.
  42. ^ Hensch, Mark (January 7, 2016). "Heidi Cruz defe nds husband's citizenship". The Hill.
  43. ^ "Heidi Cruz praises Donald Trump -- for 'The Apprentice'". USA Today. January 19, 2016.
  44. ^ Cervantes, Bobby (December 3, 2015). "Ted Cruz is now on the Texas ballot". Houston Chronicle.
  45. ^ "Heidi Cruz Files To Put Her Husband's Name On Texas Ballot". CBS. December 3, 2015.
  46. ^ Svitek, Patrick (December 3, 2015). "Heidi Cruz Files to Get Husband on Texas Ballot". The Texas Tribune.
  47. ^ Limitone, Julia (December 10, 2015). "Heidi Cruz: We Need a 10th Amendment Guy Like My Husband". Fox Business.
  48. ^ Abrahams, Tom (December 7, 2015). "WHO IS HEIDI CRUZ? PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL WIFE'S SPEAKS TO ABC13".
  49. ^ "Birtherism is back". CNN. January 7, 2016.
  50. ^ "Heidi Cruz: Ted is indisputably a U.S. citizen". Boston Herald. January 8, 2016.
  51. ^ Glass, Nick (January 27, 2016). "Heidi Cruz pushed back against Trump". POLITICO.
  52. ^ Gillman, Todd J. (October 13, 2015). "In Keokuk with wife Heidi, Ted Cruz checks off extreme southeast Iowa". The Dallas Morning News.
  53. ^ "With surge in Iowa, Ted Cruz's plan to win is clicking". The Dallas Morning News. December 13, 2015.
  54. ^ Lips, Evan (January 8, 2016). "Heidi Cruz brings husband's message to Bay State supporters". NewBostonPost.
  55. ^ "Cruz's wife rallies supporters to aid the cause". Sentinel Enterprise News. January 9, 2016.
  56. ^ Patane, Matthew (January 9, 2016). "Heidi Cruz joins husband on last day of Iowa bus tour". The Des Moines Register.
  57. ^ "Heidi Cruz campaigns for husband in Spartanburg". The State. February 10, 2016.
  58. ^ Alemany, Jacqueline (January 3, 2016). "Ted Cruz expands horizons beyond Iowa". CBS News.
  59. ^ "Heidi Cruz to headline Washoe Republican women luncheon". Reno Gazette-Journal. February 13, 2016.
  60. ^ "Heidi Cruz to make stop at Lander University". gwdtoday.com. February 13, 2016.
  61. ^ "How Marco Rubio Won Nikki Haley's Endorsement, and Clinched Second in South Carolina". National Review. February 20, 2016.
  62. ^ "Heidi Cruz urges supporters in Spartanburg to turn out for SC primary". groupstate.com. February 10, 2016.
  63. ^ "Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, to campaign in Beaumont". beaumontenterprise.com. February 19, 2016.
  64. ^ "Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, to campaign Friday in Beaumont". beaumontenterprise.com. February 23, 2016.
  65. ^ "Board Member Bios: Heidi Cruz". Greater Houston Partnership. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  66. ^ CNN Library (26 March 2015). "Ted Cruz Fast Facts". CNN. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  67. ^ Starr, Alexandra (2001-10-14). "The Way We Live Now: 10-14-01: Phenomenon; The Politics Of Love". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  68. ^ "Viewpoint: Could Ted Cruz Have Gotten This Far Without His Wife Heidi?". spectrummagazine.org. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  69. ^ "Ted Cruz's Pastors Speak Out About His Faith | Cruz for President". Cruz for President. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
  70. ^ "Ted Cruz's daughter, 2: 'I want to work with daddy'". The Washingtion Times. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
  71. ^ "Heidi Cruz Offers Explanation For Loans To Husband's Senate Campaign". BuzzFeed. January 21, 2016.
  72. ^ "Cruz on wife's Goldman Sachs health insurance". Political ticker. CNN. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  73. ^ "Ted Cruz to lose Goldman Sachs health benefits". CNN. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  74. ^ "The Trials And Triumphs Of Heidi Cruz". BuzzFeed News. March 18, 2015.
  75. ^ Cruz, Ted (2015). Ted Cruz: A Time for Truth. Broadside. pp. 178–180. ISBN 978-0062365613.
  76. ^ Hopper, Jessica (July 1, 2015). "7 Things You Never Knew About Ted Cruz That We Learned From Reading His Book". ABC News.
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