RNC Committeewoman Says Cruz, Rubio Both Ineligible For Presidency

A Republican National committeewoman from Nevada said Monday that she believes both Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) are ineligible to run for President.

Diana Orrock tweeted that “Rubio and Cruz are ineligible,” alongside a link to a blog post from conservative activist Devvy Kidd:

Rubio and Cruz are ineligible. Devvy Kidd — Trump Should Move On This: Cruz, Rubio and Secretaries of States https://t.co/ycw8qmuEWN

— Diana Orrock (@DianaOrrock) February 15, 2016

Kidd’s column, posted on the conservative online outlet News With Views, contends both men are ineligible to run for President. Kidd argues Rubio is ineligible because she says his parents weren’t naturalized as American citizens until Rubio was four years old. She further argued that Cruz is ineligible because his father wasn’t a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth in Calgary, Alberta, although his mother was American.

It has been generally accepted that both men are eligible to run for President, despite doubt from some people who consider themselves “strict constitutionalists.” The Congressional Research Service said in 2011 that a “natural born“ citizen is someone who was born in the U.S. or someone who was born abroad to at least one American parent. Recently, though, even some legal scholars have questioned whether Cruz really qualifies as a “natural born” citizen.

Orrock and a spokesman for the RNC did not immediately respond Monday afternoon to TPM’s requests for comment.

Orrock, whose Twitter account portrays her as an ardent Donald Trump supporter, talked with The Daily Beast in January about her views.

“I like a lot of what Mr. Trump is saying,” Orrock told the Beast. “I’m throwing my support behind him because he appreciates my endorsement.”

In addition to her duties to the national party, Orrock is running to represent Carson City, Nevada in the state assembly.