AUSTIN — U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke on Tuesday released the first Spanish-language television advertisement of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

The 30-second video features the El Paso Democrat speaking as clips of supporters at different campaign events move across the screen.

“He visitado los 254 condados en Texas porque quiero representar a cada persona en nuestro estado," O'Rourke says in Spanish, telling viewers that he has visited all 254 counties in the Texas because "I want to represent every person in our state."

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O'Rourke is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz for the seat he has held since 2013. The race has seen an increase in intensity, with the general election less than two months away. Cruz has released several advertisements, including some attacking O'Rourke.

The new Spanish-language ad will play on television stations in El Paso, Corpus Christi, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Harlingen and Laredo starting on Wednesday.

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Political experts said O'Rourke needed to improve his outreach to Hispanic voters after the primary election in March, when O'Rourke struggled to secure support from Democratic voters in more than half of Texas' 32 counties along the U.S.-Mexico border.

O'Rourke frequently speaks Spanish on the campaign trail and tends to sign off of phone calls with a quick, "Adios."

In April, he challenged Cruz to six debates — including two in Spanish. The Republican told reporters he would be happy to debate his opponent, but it would have to be in English, because his Spanish "isn't good enough."

After months of negotiations, Cruz and O'Rourke have agreed to participate in three debates ahead of the election. The first is scheduled for Friday in Dallas.

More:Ted Cruz, Beto O'Rourke to debate three times before Texas' U.S. Senate election

O'Rourke initially shied away from using television ads. He argued in different interviews that no advertisement could compete with "showing up."

His campaign launched its first online advertisement in July, a 60-second video that included audio and visuals pieced together from different Facebook Live videos from his time on the road.

In August, his campaign started airing television advertisements in the state's 20 media markets. The ads were shortened versions of his first advertisement.

O'Rourke has also been running a handful of statewide Spanish-language radio advertisements, which each feature O'Rourke discussing a different topic.

More:Senate challenger Beto O'Rourke continues to make national TV show circuit

Reporter Daniel Borundacontributed to this report.

Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA Today Network Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.