Democratic Senate nominee Beto O'Rourke is set to open two campaign offices in North Texas, a region where he needs to perform well to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

Next week, the El Paso congressman will unveil an office in Fort Worth. He has said Tarrant County is critical to his chances of winning the Senate. O'Rourke is also scheduled to open a satellite office for DeSoto, a Dallas County city that frequently produces high vote totals for Democratic candidates.

With his stout campaign fundraising and prodigious volunteer organization, O'Rourke has 33 field offices, an unprecedented total for a modern-day Texas Democrat. He recently opened offices in Lubbock, Longview and San Antonio.

A Democrat hasn't won a statewide office since 1994. And even though some of the party's candidates have been well-funded, none of them have developed a grassroots organization like O'Rourke's.

"Taking nobody for granted and writing nobody off, our offices allow us to show up each day in DeSoto and Fort Worth, Longview and Lubbock, communities in every part of the state so we can meet, listen to and learn from those we want to represent," O'Rourke said in a written statement. "It's why this campaign is taking our lead from those on the ground and not from PACs, corporations or special interests."

The heavily populated counties of North Texas offer both advantages and challenges for O'Rourke. In Dallas County, one of the bluest areas in the state, he hopes to rack up huge vote totals with the help of local, down-ballot candidates. But he'll be the underdog in areas like Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties, where Republican candidates have routinely dominated.

The Fort Worth office is at 3620 Dominy Lane, No. 924, an area near some of the Democratic voting precincts he's targeting.

O'Rourke has campaigned in Tarrant County to large crowds. The bellwether area usually elects Republicans, and its voting percentages track with statewide numbers.

On Saturday, his supporters are opening an office that will be operated by volunteers and is independent from the campaign. It's at 612 8th Ave. in Fort Worth.

"Tarrant County is really going to determine the direction of the state," O'Rourke recently told The Dallas Morning News. "I want to win in Tarrant County."

The DeSoto/Oak Cliff operation is at a bustling location at 4107 W. Camp Wisdom Road in Dallas. O'Rourke has campaigned in that southern Dallas suburb this year with council member Candice Quarles. He was moved when at least one participant at a town hall told him he needed to do more to attract black voters, and he promised her he would do better.

"One of the tough, but important things I heard was when an African-American woman at our town hall in DeSoto asked, 'Why aren't there more people who look like me in your campaign?' " O'Rourke said. "We turned around and asked her to join our campaign. We're getting much better with reaching out to everyone."

O'Rourke has become a star attraction, playing to large crowds all across the state.

But he's still somewhat unknown to base voters in his party, particularly blacks and Hispanics.

Along with retail campaigning, opening campaign offices across the state is a mechanism that allows O'Rourke to reach out to voters who may not know him.

"People who might not find a way to our town hall might not know that I exist," O'Rourke said. "I'm going to go to them."

O'Rourke is about to embark on a massive campaign road tour throughout Texas. He's scheduled to hit the Dallas area in mid-August, according to his campaign.

Correction, 10:20 a.m. July 27: The headline in an earlier version of this story said that Beto O'Rourke was opening a campaign office in DeSoto. The office will focus on DeSoto but is located in Dallas near DeSoto.