Cruz could be a contender

 Signs deal with HarperCollins

By Hillel Italie
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, is working on a project considered standard for national contenders: a book.

Cruz’s literary agent, Keith Urbahn, said Wednesday that the tea party favorite had agreed to terms with HarperCollins. Urbahn declined to confirm a report in the Washington Examiner that the deal was worth $1.5 million. But he says the number is “close.”

Cruz, 43, is expected to officially sign with HarperCollins over the next few weeks.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my story and to tell the truth about what’s happening in Washington,” Cruz told The Associated Press after giving a speech Wednesday at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

“We’re having a national debate right now about the direction our country should go, and I am eager to participate in that debate through any medium possible. And a book can serve as an effective vehicle for conveying the positive hopeful optimistic vision for America that I believe together can turn this nation around.”

Elected in 2012, Cruz quickly established himself as one of the most polarizing and talked-about senators, and several publishers bid for his book. Some other possible 2016 candidates have books scheduled for this year, including former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rep. Paul Ryan, while Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Rand Paul are among those who already have books out.