Many Texans are hoping that Beto O’Rourke decides to run for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020.

Others are hoping he instead stages another run for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

And some are hoping that O’Rourke sits out this election cycle altogether, for various reasons.

Most of us, however, would agree that the former congressman from El Paso should just make a decision already.

Running for president is not an easy task, or one to be undertaken lightly. And O’Rourke wasn’t even considering throwing his hat into the ring for his party’s presidential nomination until relatively recently; in 2018, he was focused on defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

But O’Rourke’s plans may affect the deliberations of other Democrats, particularly with regard to the Senate race. Republican John Cornyn is planning to run for a fourth term, and recently secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement, as well as the support of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick—who had been seen as a potential primary challenger to Cornyn, despite his vigorous protestations that he would never consider such a thing.

Cornyn is probably not as vulnerable to a general election challenge as Cruz, who narrowly won re-election. But Texas turned purple in last year’s midterm elections; the Republicans running statewide this year can’t count on coasting to victory. And a top-tier Senate candidate like O’Rourke would potentially provide a boost to down-ballot Democratic candidates.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Texas Republicans can’t coast to victory this year

All things considered, then, it’s good news that O’Rourke is planning to announce his decision by the end of the month.

Texans should take O’Rourke at his word, though, when he says he’s still deliberating.

“I'm trying to figure out how I can best serve this country, where I can do the greatest good for the United States of America, so yeah, I’m thinking through that,” O’Rourke said Tuesday. “It, you know, may involve running for the presidency. It may involve something else.”

He proved himself to be a substantive and serious-minded public servant during his years on the El Paso City Council and three terms as the U.S. representative for Texas’s 16th District.

O’Rourke would be a welcome presence in the presidential race, given his eloquence in defense of values and principles that have gotten short shrift during national political debates of late.

Also, a presidential run by O’Rourke might have a stimulating effect on voter registration and turnout in the state—especially given that another Texan, former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro, has already entered the race.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Julián Castro is a serious presidential candidate

But Texans should keep their expectations in check.

About one million Democrats — ok, maybe a dozen — have already declared bids for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination. O’Rourke would enter the race with relatively high name ID and—relatedly—the ability to raise comically large sums of money.

But many of the Democrats who have already announced bids for the nomination are similarly impressive in terms of their professional experience. None of them spent the past two years criss-crossing the state of Texas— which has got to be exhausting, even though O’Rourke made it look easy.

As a candidate for president, too, O’Rourke could expect more criticism from his rivals, as well as more scrutiny from the press.

In 2018, O’Rourke eschewed the advice of consultants and rejected the support of PACs. Much of the money he raised came from small donors. An army of volunteers—many of them outside the state—worked tirelessly on his behalf.

The genuine enthusiasm he elicited helped propel him to an unexpectedly strong finish in November; he won 48.3 percent of the vote, compared to 50.9 percent for Cruz. And the grassroots enthusiasm for O’Rourke persists.

But it’s debatable whether that would be sufficient to propel him to the nomination, much less the White House. So for O’Rourke to embrace such a strategy in a presidential race would be tendentious given the stakes. Cruz may be reviled by most Democrats, but he doesn’t single-handedly set the agenda in Washington, D.C. or represent the country on the world stage.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Beto O’Rourke could work for Texas, rather than Trump

So, all things considered, O’Rourke might severely underperform expectations as a candidate for president.

Also, it’s unclear whether O’Rourke can recapture the magic that distinguished his 2018 campaign.

The horse-race pundits weren’t wrong to predict that O’Rourke didn’t have a chance. He’s a Democrat, and he was running statewide in Texas. But the pundits didn’t anticipate that the Texas electorate would respond by rewarding, and reciprocating, the effort.

The voters who supported O’Rourke — many of whom also volunteered on his behalf — weren’t under any delusions about his prospects. They were inspired, nonetheless, to act.

The result was a campaign that inspired hopes across the country, but which tells us relatively little about what might happen should O’Rourke decide to run for president.

We’ll find out soon enough — if he takes the chance.

erica.grieder@chron.com