The line to enter the conference center is long, the conference room itself is packed, there’s nowhere left to sit down, music is playing and the crowds are cheering.

Everyone is waiting in anticipation for the event they came out to see: Senator and Presidential Candidate Ted Cruz give a speech the day before the Illinois primary. People arrived from around the area to witness the first time since Ronald Reagan that a presidential candidate would visit Decatur.

And as a first time voter, this was the first political rally I have attended and was a great experience.

Even before Senator Cruz made his appearance on the stage, the crowd was already excited and pumped up to attend the rally. Before he arrived, the screens played several videos including an endorsement from the Liberty Movement and a video entailing Cruz’s journey across the campaign trail. Cruz was also introduced by several members of Cruz for America including a pastor who gave a short prayer before the speech.

When Cruz did walk out the crowds cheered and stood, many did not sit back down until the speech was over. Cruz started to speak, he began his speech by stating that

“We are here tonight because of something more important than politics. We are here because our country is in crisis. Because we’re bankrupting our kids and grandkids, because our Constitutional rights are under assault, and because America has receded from leadership in the world. And I am here tonight with a word of hope and encouragement. All across this country people are waking up and help is on the way.”

Cruz also stated that his campaign was based off of 3 key issues: jobs, freedom, and security. On the topic of jobs he vowed to pass a flat tax, promised to help out small businesses across the country who have been suffering under the Obama administration’s tax plan.

“The heart of our economy is not Washington, D.C., the heart of the economy is small businesses all across the United States of America You want to kill the economy? Just do what we’ve done the last seven years — hammer the living daylights out of small businesses. You want to see the economy take off? Take the boot of the federal government off of the back of the necks of small businesses.” Cruz said.

As a college student, I have been paying attention to the economy and the job market as it will be important to know what lies in store after graduation as far as job opportunities. Cruz did address college students in his speech saying:

“I want college students to leave school with 4 or 5 job offers.”

If we increase the private sector and loosen government regulations on businesses, this could end up becoming a reality to not only me, but other college students.

On the topic of freedom Cruz said that “not only is the presidency on the line this election, but the Supreme Court is as well. With the loss of Justice Scalia, we are one liberal justice away from having our religious freedoms stripped away, we are one liberal justice away from completely losing the Second Amendment.”

He also vowed to protect the constitution as president as a constitution lawyer, Cruz has an extensive knowledge of the document and laws related to it. Hearing him vow to protect it on the stage and knowing his background made me know he meant what he promised. When it came to security, Cruz also vowed to fight Islamic Terrorism by strengthening our military and to close our borders and fight illegal immigration.

These issues are ones that I have opinions on as an American citizen. I hold views that are anti-illegal immigration, anti ISIS, pro-military, and pro-Second Amendment which are issues that in recent months have been in the media plenty of times. While there are other politicians that have those views, Cruz is the only one that has a plan to actually accomplish the goal of defeating ISIS and closing the boarders as well as being politically incorrect, but not spouting off nonsense when it comes to his answers.

He also took to speaking about Trump and his political past brining up an issue that actually hit me and many others close to home: state corruption. Cruz mentioned Trump’s past donations to former governor Rod Blagojevich who as many remember was removed from office on corruption charges as well as Trump’s donations to the Cook County Democratic party which for the past 20 some years have helped dictate the state’s politics in more than just Cook County. He also mentioned Trumps donations to current Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel who has been more or less the head of the corruption. He also referred to Trump as being an “election conservative” stating that Trump only holds these views during this election and might not hold the same views if actually elected president.

Now while Trump is leading in the polls, this comes into the idea that voters should research their candidate. Many voters who may consider themselves conservatives are backing Trump and many are unaware of his past that may have conflicting views with the personal voter. It isn’t just with the Illinois Democrats that Trump has given money too, he has also donated money to the Clintons’ Campaigns as well as many other Democrats serving in congress.

Now from the view of a first time voter, I had spent the last year thinking of who I was going to vote for. I had looked at all the candidates and their stances on issues, changed my candidate a few times and as the race drew narrower, I knew I’d have less candidates to choose from. So as the race drew closer I knew I had to decide soon, and after picking a candidate to support based on issues and experience, I finally decided on Ted Cruz. I knew it would be a good idea to start paying close attention to him during debates and speeches and interviews so that I knew what type of candidate he truly is. So after finding out Cruz was speaking in the area I knew it would be a good idea to hear him speak for real. This was truly an amazing experience and I would recommend attending political rallies to anyone who is planning to vote. Even if it is a candidate you don’t think you would support, you can at least get their view on the issues and it may end up changing your mind.