The Texas Republican Party tried to shame Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke on Twitter for his unconventional past — but it hilariously backfired.

The 45-year-old O’Rourke played bass in the alternative band Foss, which released a pair of albums on Western Breed Records and toured the U.S. and Canada in the mid-1990s, and he has openly discussed his arrests on misdemeanor charges during that same period.

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O’Rourke was charged in 1995 with burglary for jumping a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso and in 1998 with driving under the influence, but he was not convicted of either charge and has publicly addressed his arrests when asked.

“Both incidents were due to poor judgement and I have no excuse for my behavior then,” O’Rourke said. “However, since then, I have used my opportunities to serve my community and my state. I’m grateful for the second chance and believe that we all deserve second chances.”

The Texas GOP tweeted out a publicity photo of Foss, featuring a long-haired, unshaven O’Rourke, and a mugshot from his DUI arrest — and other Twitter users mocked their attempts to help Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) hold off his Democratic challenger.

Maybe Beto can’t debate Ted Cruz because he already had plans… pic.twitter.com/LdqKTh3yK4 — Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 28, 2018

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Definitely don't want to vote for this cool guy who did fun stuff and had friends. — ''Macho Man'' Rand Paul's Neighbor (@Neighbormania) August 29, 2018

Your strategy here is to try to make Beto look…cool? — John Jeffers (@JohnJeffers) August 29, 2018

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Yeah, don’t vote for people who liked to play music in college. And you wonder why no one under 55 votes GOP. — I'm for America (@exelephant2017) August 29, 2018

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and you wonder why you're popular only with the 60+ demographic — Lil Wage (@lil_wage) August 29, 2018

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making us even more thirsty for Beto, well done lol nerds — Moshe Siegel (@moshesiegel) August 29, 2018

it's pretty cool he was in a band tbh — Jack Montgomery (@jmontgo3) August 29, 2018

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Whoa, he was in a band? No thank you. I want a senator who buys a hundred cans of soup on his wedding night and doesn't understand the moral of 'The Cat in the Hat' — Mike (@hammerito) August 29, 2018

No photos of @tedcruz during this era because that would require the presence of a second person not being paid to be around him. — brennanburch (@brennanburch) August 29, 2018

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Very strong strategy here of making clear that Beto played in a band, got drunk and laid, was generally cool as a youth Next phase: videos of Ted Cruz at a similar age singing along to Les Mis in a car on the way to debate team camp Election OVER https://t.co/189BgtDJVi — Will🦕Menaker (@willmenaker) August 29, 2018

Is Ted Cruz really trying to scare voters with pictures from Beto's band days when there are pictures of him out there as a mime? pic.twitter.com/waHTLM1fi5 — Schooley (@Rschooley) August 29, 2018

This is an amazing self-own, guys — coreyspring (@coreyspring) August 29, 2018

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Their efforts to scare voters with O’Rourke’s mugshot didn’t go much better.

There's always the chance that Robert “Beto” O’Rourke won’t debate Senator Cruz because he got into a hazy situation… pic.twitter.com/4nmd42AEkl — Texas GOP (@TexasGOP) August 29, 2018

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Couldn’t find Stockman’s most recent mugshot, so here’s the old one with his most recent conviction pic.twitter.com/UxqMsWuf7P — Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) August 29, 2018

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Forgot George W. — marie holloway (@marieholloway6) August 29, 2018

Or maybe it's because Cruz is busy with "other" things pic.twitter.com/0lZpIbRumu — Crayoh (@crayoh) August 29, 2018