Landon Lynch, standing at right, asks a question to U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, standing at left, during a campaign town hall meeting Wednesday at Twin City Event and Conference Center in Texarkana, Texas. O'Rourke is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Houston, on Election Day in November. Photo by Karl Richter / Texarkana Gazette.

U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke held a town hall meeting in Texarkana on Wednesday, one of seven appearances in a daylong campaign tour of Northeast Texas.

O'Rourke, D-El Paso, is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Houston, on Election Day in November. He is serving his third term representing Texas' 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House.

"I think this is such a great opportunity for Texas to lead in this country," he said when asked why he is running. "Texas is the big, bold, confident, strong answer to all the weakness and smallness and pettiness and paranoia and hatred that seems to dominate our country right now. And the only way we're going to do it is Republicans and Democrats and nonvoters alike getting together and making the best decisions for our communities and our future and the kids who will succeed us."

That willingness to move past partisanship has been a theme in O'Rourke's congressional career. He captured the public's imagination a year ago when he and Republican Rep. Will Hurd were forced to drive from San Antonio to Washington, D.C., because of weather-canceled flights and live-streamed the entire two-day road trip. Hundreds of thousands of viewers followed the journey, many expressing how refreshing they found the bipartisan pair's friendliness.

Seeing how he works without regard to party could convince some Republicans that O'Rourke is the right person for the job, he said.

"They know they have someone in this campaign who's going to work for each and every Texan, and our party differences, our geographic differences, none of those matter. What matters is working together to get the business of this country done.

"I don't know that we've had that. We've allowed ideology and party and politics and career and elections to stand in the way of doing the right thing for this country, and I think Texas is now ready to lead," he said.

At 45, O'Rourke prefers a down-to-earth presentation, sometimes using "f-bomb"-level profanity on the stump and often appearing, as he did Wednesday, in shirtsleeves and blue jeans. It's a casualness that seems fitting for someone who in his early twenties toured and recorded two albums as singer and guitarist in a rock band.

During a short speech and question-and-answer session afterward, O'Rourke touched on several issues, including trade agreements, marijuana legalization, mass incarceration and health care.

"We need to have true universal health care. Everyone should be able to count on seeing a doctor or a provider. There may be multiple ways to get there. One of the best is a single-payer system," he said.

The meeting's last question went to Texas Middle School eighth-grader Patton Culbertson, who asked what steps O'Rourke supported to make schools safer in the aftermath of the Valentine's Day school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17.

Allowing the Centers for Disease Control to study the public health effects of gun violence, instituting universal background checks for gun buyers and prohibiting the sale of semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15 would be among his first steps, along with making schools more secure, O'Rourke said.

"We could help the rest of the country come to the conclusion that there is no reason that anyone should be able to go into a sporting goods store and buy an AR-15," he said, drawing applause. He encouraged Culbertson to continue talking about the issue. "If you continue to stand up and speak out, I guarantee you Congress will move a lot faster than it would otherwise."

Another point that brought a round of applause was O'Rourke's pledge not to take political action committee, corporate or special interest donations. He raised $2.3 million to Cruz's $800,000 in the first six weeks of 2018, though Cruz has more total cash on hand, $6 million to O'Rourke's $4.9 million, according to federal filings and news reports.

The campaign had already made stops in Cooper, Paris and Pittsburg on Wednesday and was headed for town hall meetings scheduled in Atlanta, Marshall and Jefferson. O'Rourke's goal is to visit all 254 Texas counties during his run.

Before running for Congress, O'Rourke started a software development business and served on the El Paso City Council from 2005 to 2011. He has been married for more than 12 years and has three children.

Early voting in Texas' primary elections ends Friday. Primary Election Day is March 6.

On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter