2016 Presidential Candidates React to Justice Scalia's Passing

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away due to natural causes on Saturday at a ranch in Texas. He was 79.

Ahead of the GOP primary debate in Greenville, SC, the candidates released statements mourning Scalia's passing:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX):

Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016

Today our Nation mourns the loss of one of the greatest Justices in history – Justice Antonin Scalia. A champion of our...
Posted by Ted Cruz on Saturday, February 13, 2016

Donald Trump:

The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016

Official statement released on his website:

I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the Scalia family after the passing of Justice Scalia. Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice, one of the best of all time. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans’ most cherished freedoms. He was a Justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the Constitution of our country. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time.

I am saddened to hear the news about Justice Antonin Scalia. We have lost a great man and a great Supreme Court Justice. For the past three decades, his towering intellect and trenchant wit has characterized the deliberations and decisions of the high court. He made Americans proud, not only because he gave to the court the power and persuasion of his brilliant legal mind, but because he defended the Constitution with an unshakeable commitment to the text and to the intent of the Founders.

In an age where it is popular to subscribe to a "living Constitution" and during a time when political and judicial leaders prefer legal decisions that are politically convenient, Justice Scalia always dutifully carried out his responsibilities to interpret the law, not to make new ones. Time and again, he ruled based on where the black letter of the law led him, not according to the politics of the moment. For that reason, he has angered Americans on both the left and the right, but he has never wavered in his dedication to the Constitution.

It is imperative that the Senate not allow President Obama to diminish Justice Scalia’s legacy by trying to nominate an individual who would carry on the President’s wishes to subvert the will of the people. Given the dire condition our democracy currently finds itself under Obama's lack of leadership, I call on the Senate to stop any attempts to fill this crucial seat until We The People elect a strong Constitutionalist this November.

We will miss him sorely. We pray for his family and friends, and we pray for America, which today lost a patriot and a faithful servant.

Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also offered condolences to Scalia's family and the other Supreme Court justices.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT):

My thoughts and prayers are with Justice Scalia's family and his colleagues on the court who mourn his passing. pic.twitter.com/Y51xUMMEId
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 13, 2016

Hillary Clinton:

Hillary Clinton's statement on Scalia says Senate "has a constitutional responsibility" not to block a replacement. pic.twitter.com/Z9oqPp7upR
— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) February 14, 2016

This post will be updated.