Beto O'Rourke, the Texas congressman who is the likely Democratic nominee to take on Sen. Ted Cruz this fall, recently tweeted proudly that he has an "F" rating from the NRA and has never gotten any money from them. Later, he tweeted a video stating his support for some form of universal, government-guaranteed health care. O'Rourke has lately been raising money faster than Cruz, and while the incumbent is still the favorite, it's a race Democrats increasingly think they have a shot to win.
Of course, if any Republican would be vulnerable in Texas, it'd probably be Cruz (watching him one is reminded of what the great Molly Ivins used to say about another Texas GOPer, Phil Gramm: "Even his friends don't like him"). But what's most notable about O'Rourke's candidacy isn't just that he has a shot in this deep red state, but that very few people seem to be telling him that what he really needs to do is reach out to the center. O'Rourke may not win, but if he does it's going to be due to the way he's running an unapologetically liberal campaign meant to energize Democratic voters.
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