Ted Cruz has always talked about the Supreme Court as a candidate for president, but it's become the new focal point of his White House bid following the weekend death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Texas senator on Monday recast the stump speech he's offered voters for the past several weeks to highlight the importance of electing a conservative who will appoint what he called the right kind of justices to the Supreme Court, which he described as currently being "activist" and "out of control."

Cruz argued before the Supreme Court nine times by age 40, winning two cases and losing four, with three cases having a murkier outcome. He says that gives him alone "the background, the principle, the character, the judgment" to find a solid conservative to replace Scalia.

The tea party darling also has vowed to filibuster any nominees offered by President Barack Obama, saying one more liberal Supreme Court justice could wipe out state-level abortion restrictions while undermining religious liberty and curtailing gun ownership.

"This presidential election is the turning point between either prevailing or losing that fight for a generation," Cruz told a crowd in Florence, South Carolina.