(CNN) The Houston Chronicle's editorial board wasn't mincing words.

"So Beto, if you're listening: Come home. Drop out of the race for president and come back to Texas to run for senator," an op-ed aimed at Democratic former Texas Rep. Beto O' Rourke said. "The chances of winning the race you're in now are vanishingly small. And Texas needs you."

What's remarkable about that piece -- and it's far from the only one expressing the sentiment that O'Rourke should drop out of the presidential race and run against Republican Sen. John Cornyn in 2020 -- is that it was sparked by what was, without question, Beto's best moment as a presidential candidate in months.

In the wake of the murders of 22 people in a mass shooting in El Paso earlier this month, O'Rourke was asked whether President Donald Trump bore some responsibility for the tragedy.

"Um, what do you think?" O'Rourke said. "You know the s*** he's been saying. He's been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don't know. ... Like, members of the press -- what the f***? It's these questions that you know the answers to ..."

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