Damn straight:

x Beto O'Rourke says Ted Cruz and Donald Trump "want you to be afraid of Mexicans." #ttevents #tx2018 https://t.co/WFiklGOHyP pic.twitter.com/mo0g6oOOBo Ã¢ÂÂ Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) April 3, 2018 U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, lit into U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and President Donald Trump during an interview in Waco on Tuesday, suggesting the two Republicans were inciting fear in Texas voters. "Let me tell you what the president and our junior senator are doing right now," he said at an event hosted by The Texas Tribune. O'Rourke was being interviewed by the Tribune's CEO, Evan Smith. "They want you to be afraid of Mexicans. When they call them rapists and criminals, and say only a wall will keep them out." O'Rourke is challenging Cruz in the November election. During the interview, he often referred to Cruz as "our junior senator," rather than by name. And he criticized Cruz and Trump on their positions regarding LGBT people. "And that ... is bullshit, and we've got to be bigger and stronger and more courageous than that," he added. "And I know that we are. I know that we are."

O’Rourke is 100% correct about that. Cruz is using anti-immigration rhetoric to scare voters to come out for him:

On immigration, Cruz assailed cities that have prohibited local law enforcement officers from enforcing federal laws. "There are some in Washington who believe that ... our cities should be sanctuaries for those who are here illegally," he said "That's not who Texas is as a state. In Texas, ... we want Washington D.C. the heck off our backs," he said. "We want our cities to be sanctuaries but sanctuaries for Americans and those like my Dad who came to this country as immigrants legally seeking the American dream." As he had in seven other cities he visited on Monday and earlier Tuesday, Cruz praised the grit of ordinary Texans. Without naming his opponent, Cruz cast Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, as too liberal.

But really, Cruz is running scared because he knows Beto is a real threat:

Mr. O’Rourke, a former punk-rock bassist and El Paso city councilman, has raised $13.2 million in the race so far, and outraised Mr. Cruz in three of four Federal Election Commission reporting periods. (Mr. Cruz has not yet reported his latest fund-raising.) In the first three months of 2018, Mr. O’Rourke raised $6.7 million, more than any other Democratic Senate candidate in the country in that period. Mr. O’Rourke’s campaign has given Texas Democrats a burst of hope. They view Mr. Cruz as politically vulnerable and disconnected in Texas after his failed run for president, especially as anger against President Trump rises even in red states such as Texas. And they see in Mr. O’Rourke — an Irish-American congressman who is fluent in Spanish and has gone by Beto, a Spanish nickname of Roberto, since childhood — a model of the future of the Texas Democratic Party. “It’s kind of Ann Richards-level enthusiasm, in the crowds he gathers,” said Harold Cook, a Democratic strategist in Austin and former executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, referring to the outspoken Democrat who served as Texas’ governor from 1991 to 1995 before losing to George W. Bush. “I haven’t seen a response like Beto O’Rourke is getting in a very long time. Beto has got that thing, that star-power deal that you can’t predict in advance.”

CNN points out there are 5 real reasons Beto’s fundraising spells trouble for Cruz:

1. Democratic donors hate Cruz: Sure, O'Rourke is young, personable and handsome. And, yes, Texas is a big state with : Sure, O'Rourke is young, personable and handsome. And, yes, Texas is a big state with lots and lots of donor money in it . But, a good chunk of O'Rourke's cash is the result of donors -- inside and outside of Texas -- who simply want to make Cruz sweat. Other than the current occupant of the White House, there's no Republican who Democrats hate more than Cruz -- largely as a result of his near-miss 2016 presidential campaign. That Cruz hatred among Democratic givers doesn't take away anything from O'Rourke; he saw the opportunity to run and capitalize on that dislike before anyone else did. 2. O'Rourke has a much higher $$$ ceiling: The $6.7 million O'Rourke raised between January 1 and March 31 came from 141,000 donations. Some simple back of the envelope math means that the average contribution was around $50. (Obviously that's a broad estimate, not a hard-and-fast number.) What it means is that O'Rourke should be able to go back to lots and lots of his donors and ask for more. (The contribution limit for an individual is $2,700 for the primary and another $2,700 for the general election.) The more he looks like he can be truly competitive, the easier that ask becomes. 3. PAC money is overrated: When O'Rourke announced his candidacy, he pledged not to accept any donations from political action committees -- a move aimed at proving he wasn't part of the DC swamp. Most independent observers crushed him for that decision, insisting that the residual benefits he would get from being able to cast himself as un-owned by the permanent political class would be overshadowed by how much money he would be sacrificing. (Cruz has raised north of $580,000 from PACs.) Turns out that O'Rourke hasn't needed PAC cash at all. 4. O'Rourke isn't a creation of the national Democratic Party: Per point No. 1, there's a tendency to assume that for any Democrat to raise the amount of money O'Rourke has that it must be coming from wealthy liberals on the two coasts who have cash to burn and just want to make Cruz's life difficult. Not so, at least as of February 18, the last day for which we have detailed information on O'Rourke's cash flow. (O'Rourke announced his fundraising through March 31 via press release but the actual report, which gives us a more detailed sense of where the money came from -- and how much of it he has left -- has yet to show up at the Federal Election Commission.) As of that date, 49.99% of O'Rourke's donations came from inside of Texas with the remainder from outside the state. That's a healthy split that suggests O'Rourke is not simply a creation of national Democrats but has actual, on-the-ground support among Texans. 5. This is a real race: Make no mistake: Cruz is still the favorite here. Texas remains a Republican state and despite what is expected to be a very good year for Democrats nationally, any credible GOPer starts with an edge over a Democrat in this state. That said, O'Rourke's fundraising will allow him to build a real voter identification and turnout effort statewide as well as battle Cruz on the TV airwaves. That doesn't guarantee victory. But it almost always ensures competitiveness.