Texas Senator Ted Cruz hopes to catch votes early enough, so he will officially announce on Monday at the Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, his intent to run for president as the official candidate of the Republican Party.

He will make the announcement even before the 44-year-old senator has first formed an exploratory committee, reports the Houston Chronicle. Senior advisers familiar with the senator's plan said that he would launch a presidential bid outright.

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In the past two years in his Senate stint, Cruz has established himself as a conservative GOP member who is willing to take on the establishment Republicans in power. His advocacy against the Obamacare in 2013 caused a tense deadlock between the Democrats and Republicans that led to a 17-day government shutdown, marked by his 21-hour speech on the Senate floor.

He targets to raise between $40 million and $50 million for his campaign, said Cruz's advisers, who added that the senator would be a second choice of voters in the GOP's libertarian and social conservative wings.

However, according to CNN, his popularity in conservative and tea party circles "has a long way to go" when it comes to having a broader support in the party's base. Proof of this is in the CNN/ORC International poll in March of GOP primary candidates, Cruz just got a mere 4 percent support and Republicans and independents who would likely support GOP members.

Cruz recently dared Republicans to go beyond words into action. He said, "The proof is in the pudding. What I've urged Republicans to ask every candidate is: Have you walked the talk? Show me your record."

Houston Chronicle reports that critics of Cruz believe he would likely have difficulty attracting big money from traditional contributors and get few endorsements from political establishment.

Cruz is likewise expected to be compared to U.S. President Barack Obama who was also a first-term senator when he pursued his presidential bid.

Prior to 2012 when he ran for senator, the Canada-born legislator was solicitor general of Texas. He was born to a Cuban father and American mother and acquired his degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. In 2014, he renounced his Canadian citizenship.

Greg Valliere, political adviser to Wall Street companies, believes Cruz's planned presidential bid is premature. He forecast the young senator would not win more than a dozen states in the general election. Currently, he is behind likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

"I don't consider him a mainstream candidate, and usually to win you've got to be inside the 45-yard line," Valliere said, who adds the Texas legislator is alienated from the GOP's dominant wing.

TagsTed Cruz, Republican Party, 2016 U.S. Elections, GOP