U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) is on day five of a 34 day road trip throughout the state. The U.S. House of Representatives is in recess, so he will be on the road all month long.
“We are not dividing along political lines. We are not allowing geography to stand in the way,” said O’Rourke.
O’Rourke was in Graham, Texas on Thursday on the heels of the announcement Wednesday that polls in the race are tightening. A Quinnipiac polls shows U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) six points ahead. In May, Cruz had an 11 point advantage.
“I think those polls reflect what we have been seeing and what we feel as we travel the 254 counties of Texas,” said O’Rourke.
O’Rourke also pulled in $10.4 million this past fundraising quarter.
“Thirty three dollars was the average. 215,714 unique contributions. All people no PACS, mostly from Texas. That is a really good feeling,” he added.
O’Rourke out-raised Cruz, who raised $4.6 million. Cruz has been campaigning on the weekends when the senate is not in session. He has been paying attention to the fundraising numbers.
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“There are a whole lot of folks on the left who are very angry and you have got to take that anger seriously. You have got to respect it. The good news is in Texas there are a whole lot more conservatives than liberals. And so if we just turn common sense Texans out on election day, we are going to keep the state bright red. But it is certainly a warning sign,” said Cruz this past weekend.
But while O’Rourke is raising money, he does not have the name recognition that Senator Cruz does. We asked O'Rourke what he feels his biggest challenge is moving forward.
“This is a big state. There are a lot of people to see. 28 million spread across the largest of the lower 48. But it is the best possible challenge,” O'Rourke added.
