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TAMPA, Fla. -- The Republican National Convention in Tampa is full of candidates looking to use the coming days to campaign and further their message.

Monday morning, Texas’ 300-plus delegates and alternates heard from U.S. Senate candidate and former solicitor general, Ted Cruz.

Cruz says he is using the convention to further his message that the Lone Star State needs a “strong conservative” to represent Texans in Washington.

“We are going to focus every day between now and Election Day on carrying the message,” Cruz said. “That what we need is to dramatically shrink the size and power of the federal government and to turn around our crushing debt. Our national debt is larger than our gross domestic product and it has been career politicians in both parties who got us in this mess.”