are getting? have you really know where we will wind up? we have to nominate and elect a conservative that can unite his party. i told you how important it is that we defeat hillary clinton. we are not going to defeat her if we nominate someone that over /3% of our party rejects and 11 of our party refuses to vote for. i can unite his party. it is not just about you 19 the party could we have to grow it. we have to take our conservativism to people not voting for us now and convince them conservativism is right for them. i know i can do that because i have done it my whole life. i will take conservativism two people who struggle to live a check to paycheck. i can do that because i grew up paycheck to paycheck. because i have lived paycheck to paycheck. i will take conservative is a two young americans struggling under student loan debt, because

i had over $100,000 in student loans not long ago. i remember what it was like to pace ellie mae $1000 a month. i never met her. she took a lot of my money. we need to take the conservative message to young families raising their children. because my wife and i are raising our four children in the 21st century, and we know how hard it has become to instill in them the values they teach in our church instead of the values they try to ram down our throat in the polymer -- popular culture. and win.ake our values i know we will win because last saturday, i traveled to the island of puerto rico. a place that does not vote for republicans often. i did not go there is a moderate nor as a liberal. i went there as a conservative talking about balanced budget,

limited government, free enterprise, and the constitution. on sunday, over 70% of people on the island of puerto rico voted for me, and i won that primary. [applause] sen. rubio: because our nation knows we have gone too far and it is time to turn around, and .e will i want you to know i am passionate about this issue personally america is not just the country i was born in. america is the country that changed the history of my family . my parents were not born in america. my parents understood america with special because they knew what life is like outside of america. likerents knew what it was to live in a society that says it does not matter how hard you work, how good you are, if your parents were not the right people, he would only be allowed to go so far. to you theribed

human condition for almost all of history group most every person that has ever lived has lived in a society that trapped them in the circumstances of their birth. in 1956, my parents came here. they had nothing. my father lost his mother when he was nine, so he never finished school. he worked from the time he was nine years old. my mother did not have it much easier. she was one of seven girls raised in rural cuba by a disabled father. and they struggled. when they came here in 1956, they had no money. anyone, barelyw had any education, and barely knew english. life was hard. book years ago, i wrote a and started interviewing my mom to write about their history. she told me something i had never heard before. she said we first got to america, we were very discouraged. it was so hard. we could not find work. we worked really hard. we had to share an apartment

with her sister and her family. they wonder if they made a mistake and even about going back to cuba at one point. you cannot imagine how glad i am they did not. they stuck it out. they persevered. less than 10 years after my parents came here under those conditions, my father by then was just a bartender on miami beach. and they bought their first home in a safe and stable neighborhood. [applause] sen. rubio: they never became rich and they never became famous, but my parents became incredibly successful people because working as a bartender and he made, they raised a family. they retired with dignity. and most important of all, they live to see all four of their children live a life better than their own. story would not have been possible in any nation on earth except here.

and that story is not just my story. that story is our story. in this country, we are all but a generation or two removed from a story not unlike that one. came here from another country or not, we are all a generation or two removed from someone who made your future the purpose of their lives. it is what your grandparents did for your parents. or maybe it is your father that worked two jobs so you could have a better future. maybe it was your mother who gave up on her dreams so you could let viewers. -- so you could live yours. maybe i'm describing you now. maybe you are the bartender and maid working hard jobs and discouraged but willing to do what it takes a your kids can have the life you always wanted. this is who we are. this is what makes america special. that is the american dream it changed my life, years, and the world.

that american dream separates us from every other society in the history of mankind. it is not dead, but it is in a lot of trouble. we must either save it now, or we will have to explain to our children why we were the generation that lost it. all the things that made america special were not automatic. our great country did not happen on its own. for over two centuries, each generation before us confronted a challenge is unsolved problems. each generation did what they needed to do to ensure their children inherited a better life and country. for our has come generation to do our part. the moment has arrived for us to do what americans before us did. the time has come for us to do for our children when our parents did for us. when i am president, this generation will do its part! [applause] when i am president,

we will confront our challenges. we will solve our problems. we will deal with what needs to be dealt with. i know times are tough. do not let anyone take advantage of that to pull you into voting for something that is not true. i know times are to have. that times are tough. but i want you to believe, as reagan did, that americans can do anything. my grandfather was a huge influence on my life. he lived with us until he passed away. i would sit for hours on the porch of our home as he slipped one of his three daily cigars. he lived to be 84 by the way. me thisfather told story once per he was born in 1899. when he was born, there were not even airplanes in the sky. kind of weird to think about that. if there was something in the sky flying, it was a u.f.o., not a plane. on a summer evening in 1969, my grandfather who was born before the river -- before there were

airplanes in the sky, watched on a small black and white television as an american set foot on the moon. do you know what he said to himself that he told me years later? he shook his head and said, my goodness, americans can do anything. they can put a man on the moon. they can do anything. [applause] things can do anything. we can solve these problems. we can fix what ails us. we can confront our challenges. we can leave a better future. if you elect me president, we will. but i need your vote. early voting is open. vote now seek and spend the next six days finding other people to vote for me -- vote now so you can spend the next six days finding other people to vote for me. [applause] sen. rubio: if you listen to the media, they will tell you he is an underdog.

i say i have been in underdog -- an underdog my whole life. we are a state of underdogs, a nation of underdogs. and i will fight as long and hard as i have to to ensure hillary clinton is not president and a conservative is in the white house in 2016. [applause] sen. rubio: i need your help. i believe with all my heart the winner of the florida primary next tuesday will be the nominee of the republican party. so you are given an incredible task. you are given an carpel task of week from now -- incredible task a week from now. and i need your help. i need your vote. as difficult as things may seem, i want you to know what history will say about us if we do what needs to be done. it will say that we, this generation of americans, lived in the early years of this new century, in a very difficult time. our economy was changing. we were competing with more

countries than ever. many of the jobs we once relied on were being replaced by machines or sent to another country. college degree was no longer enough, and often too expensive. the world was more dangerous. jihadists were spreading. it was a very difficult time. but like the americans that came before us, we faced a choice. we almost got it wrong. after eight years of barack obama and decrees election, we almost got it wrong -- and a crazy election, we almost got it wrong. but then remembered who we were and what america was the we remembered americans could do anything. like the generations before us, we rose up and confronted our challenges could we rose up and solve our problems. we rose up and embraced our opportunities. we did what needed to be done. in our work was done, he left our children as the freest and most prosperous americans that ever lived because we did what

needed to be done. the american dream did not just survive. get reached more people and -- it reached more people and changed more lives than ever before. because we did what needed to be done, the 21st century was better than the 20th century. it was a new american century. this is the exciting future that awaits us. this is the future with can craft for ourselves and our children. kelly have to do it now. we still -- but we have to do it now. we still have time to get it right, but we do not have forever. we must do it now and we must do it in 2016. i want to thank all of you for coming and waiting for me. i apologize if after the events i rush off. i have one more thing to do today if my boys does not leave me. does not leave me. i have been struggling with it all week. thank you, sir.

i appreciate it. you believed know in me wants. i'm asking you to believe again. we can win this election and we will. i need your help next tuesday because we are going to win florida in the primary, in november, and we are going to turn this country around and wait for our children what americans always leave their children -- the single greatest nation in the history of all mankind! thank you and god bless you. god bless all of you. thank you. [applause] [no audio]

during campaign 2016, c-span takes you on the road to the white house as we follow the candidates on c-span, c-span radio, and www.c-span.org. presidential candidate ted spoke to supporters in charlotte, north carolina. senator cruz was critical of his republican rival, donald trump. polls in north carolina next tuesday. happiness ain't out of reach i've seen enough to know

skiesars in the ♪ [applause] >> [crowd chanting "cruz"] sen. cruz: god bless the great state of north carolina. [applause] is. cruz: what a blessing it to be here with so many freedom-loving patriots. [applause] sen. cruz: what a blessing it is to be joined here today by dr. michael brown. thank you for your strong, powerful, courageous voice. [applause] sen. cruz: what a blessing to be joined by representative larry pittman. thank you for your leadership. [applause]

and how about the beenham brothers? [applause] sen. cruz: all right, $1 to anyone who can tell which is which. [laughter] sen. cruz: i don't think they know. [laughter] sen. cruz: but what are extraordinarysen. cruz: voice for their christian faith. unapologetic and unafraid at a time of fear and timidity, they stand up and speak the truth with a smile that is so needed to be heard. [applause] pastor mark harris, thank you for your incredible leadership. thank you for the voice you have in north carolina and beyond. thank you for speaking and preaching god's word.

and thank you for calling this nation to revival. [applause] sen. cruz: today is election day , yet again. now right now, the votes are still being cast. we don't know the results of the elections today. but what we do know is that something powerful is happening. [applause] we do know we are coming into this election with incredible momentum. gapnow we are closing the in state after state after state. ago, aced a few minutes new "wall street journal" poll came out that had us in a statistical tie for first place nationwide with donald trump. [cheers and applause]

sen. cruz: you know, it is worth stepping back for a minute to reflect on the journey of how we got here and where we are going from here. started with 17 republican candidates. it was a remarkable field, tremendous, diverse, talented, young. quite a contrast with the democrats. [laughter] [applause] we were blessed with an abundance of talent. and over the course of the year, we have seen that field narrow. it has narrowed and narrowed.

first big the election, the state of iowa, i remember watching the pundits the night before. every one of the pundits on said there was no way we could win. every one of them said donald trump was going to win iowa, he was unstoppable. nothing could get in his way. he was on every station, on every tv. forgot about something. they forgot about the people. on election day in the state of iowa, we saw the largest turnout in the history of the iowa aucuses -- and we won landslide victory. [applause] sen. cruz: that was the beginning of a pattern we began to see. state after state, record

turnouts for republicans. and dismal turnouts for dinner. -- and dismal turnouts for democrats. and that suggest the winds of coming.be a and then. on super tuesday, a major inflection point in this campaign. on super tuesday, once again turning on the tv, donald trumpsaid will sweep super tuesday. he is unstoppable. we, the media, have decided the republican nominee. his name is donald j. trump. he is a liberal democrat from new york slated to lose to hillary clinton. but once again, they forgot something. the people. on super tuesday, massage of the astonishment of the pundits --

we saw to the astonishment of the pundits, a tremendous victory in the state of oklahoma. [applause] victory in the state of alaska. [applause] sen. cruz: and then in my home we saw atexas, landslide victory in texas! [cheers and applause] sen. cruz: i have to tell you, that election was particularly meaningful to me. texas is my home. the men and women of texas are the men and women who five years ago i campaigned across the state making promises, looking in the eyes saying if you elect go to washington. i will fight with every breath in my body to stop obamacare, to

stop amnesty, sue stop the debt, to defend our religious liberty, to defend the bill of rights, to bring back jobs. [applause] sen. cruz: like the gentleman pastor harris told you about in west texas who grabbed me by the shoulder and looked me in the eyes. those are the promises i made. those are the men and women who know me best, who know my heart, that landslide victory because they said, ted, you have kept your word and done exactly what you said you would do. [applause] sen. cruz: and then we had super saturday. once again, the pundits also donald trump was going to win all four states. had a big lead.

nothing to do about it. but it was interesting on election day. in kansas -- [applause] donald and i were both in kansas. we were both in wichita. we were both at the same caucus site. we spoke back to back to the voters. pundits said donald was going to win kansas. kansas, did he not win not only did we win kansas, but we won in a landslide with nearly 50% of the vote. [applause] sen. cruz: double what donald trump received in the state of kansas. [applause] -- that sameme day

day in the great state of maine, all the pundits said trump was going to win maine. you know what happened? we won maine. they set a conservative cannot win in new england. the people of maine at something different to say about it. and then the state of louisiana, where donald went in with a huge lead, and yet we ended up tying him in the delegates because on him onn day, we beat election day in the state of louisiana. [applause] sen. cruz: so where are we today? today, four states vote. today we've got mississippi, hawaiin, idaho, and

voting right now. we are closing the gap in each of them. we have tremendous teams on the ground in each of them. in mississippi yesterday, i was proud to receive the endorsement of the governor, bill bryant, who stood with me. [applause] sen. cruz: and here is the dynamic we are seeing play out. to the trump supporters -- [laughter] in. cruz: i will say understand the people who are supporting donald trump. you are angry. your angry at washington. your angry at politicians who have -- too us, who make promises and go to washington and do exactly the opposite of what they said they would do. i understand being angry because

i am angry, too. every one of us is angry at being lied to and what they are doing to the country when they are breaking their word. [applause] sen. cruz: and i understand if you are angry with washington that donald can seem appealing because he is a loud, angry, profane, and cursing voice that can be seen as a vessel for that anger. but here is the simple, undeniable truth. if you are frustrated with the corruption of washington, you don't solve that problem by voting for someone who has been enmeshed in the washington corruption for 40 years. [applause] sen. cruz: donald trump has

supported liberal democrats, going back to supporting jimmy carter over ronald reagan. he supported joe biden, harry reid, chuck schumer. he supported john kerry over george w. bush. he contributed twice to hillary clinton's presidential campaign in 2008. he helped fund harry reid and nancy pelosi taking over congress, which is what gave us obamacare. now if you are fed up with the ton, theon of washing answer is not supporting someone who has been funding and commenting -- profiting off of that washington corruption for decades. [applause]

sen. cruz: so we are seeing the voters recognize this guy is not what i thought. the media, all these anchors describe him as the insurgent. there ain't nothing insurgent about this guy when he has been lining the pockets of every d.c. politico for 40 years, he is about as insurgent as george soros. how is that for an insurgent? [applause] sen. cruz: do you know what insurgents do? they actually stand up to washington. they don't find washington. they say no when washington is harming the people! [applause] sen. cruz: and the dynamic we are seeing, and the reason our , there are surging

70% of republicans who recognize donald trump is not the best candidate to go head-to-head with hillary. and if we nominate donald trump, we lose. trump and beats him badly, which means if we nominate donald trump, we lose the supreme court for a generation. we lose the bill of rights for a generation. our children drown in debt. 65 to 70% of republicans that recognize donald -- nominating donald trump is a disaster, here's what we are seeing happening. the states that are voting today and coming up, we are seeing those republicans unifying behind this campaign. [applause]

sen. cruz: because here is what the elections have made indisputably clear. there is only one campaign that has beaten donald trump repeatedly and that can and will donald trump in this nomination. [applause] sen. cruz: at this point, our campaign has beaten donald not once, not twice, not three times -- but seven different times in states all over this country. [applause] today, it is our hope that those numbers will go up. we will find out late tonight. one week from today is yet

another big, big election day. [applause] sen. cruz: one week from today, the people of north carolina get to speak. [applause] today,uz: one week from we hear from florida, and ohio, and illinois, and missouri. let me tell you, the combination ,f today, and a week from today we are in the middle of march madness. [applause] sen. cruz: i am told folks in carolina know something about that.