Updated at 4:25 p.m. with comment from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who has needled his Anglo Democratic opponent for a Hispanic-sounding nickname, has described his own Spanish language skills as “lousy.”

That may explain why El Paso Rep. Beto O’Rourke is now challenging him to debate in Spanish — twice.

In an April 24 letter to the incumbent's campaign, as first reported by The Texas Tribune, O'Rourke's campaign manager requested as many as six debates in all, with four in English, before Election Day.

The Cruz campaign has not formally responded to the request, a spokesman for O'Rourke's Senate bid said. But on Tuesday, Cruz — a college debate champion while at Princeton — all but dismissed the chances of such a match.

A "debate in Spanish would not be very good because my Spanish isn't good enough, but I look forward to debating Congressman O'Rourke," Cruz told reporters during a stop in San Antonio, according to the Tribune.

O’Rourke, who is bilingual, and Cruz are in a tussle for Hispanic voters’ support in Texas, and a Spanish-language debate would no doubt help build O’Rourke’s bonafides while highlighting Cruz's discomfort.

The Republican, whose father immigrated from Cuba, has said that he grew up in a home that spoke “Spanglish” and he has previously resisted pressure to debate in Spanish.

He deflected the idea during his 2012 Senate primary contest against then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, a former CIA officer who also is fluent in the language.

"Most Texans speak English," Cruz said at the time, admitting his Spanish is "lousy." He also accused Dewhurst of wanting to "debate in a language where the vast majority of primary voters don't understand it, because he doesn't want voters to hear about his record."

That same cycle, O’Rourke debated former El Paso Congressman Silvestre Reyes in Spanish during their primary, his campaign said, eventually defeating the eight-term Democrat.

Cruz did employ a few lines in Spanish during a 2016 presidential primary debate, when he accused Florida Sen. Marco Rubio of supporting amnesty for people in the country illegally while appearing on Univision.

That prompted Rubio, a fellow Cuban-American who is bilingual, to retort: “I don't know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn't speak Spanish.”

Cruz shot back, in Spanish, challenging Rubio to state his position. "Right now, say it. In Spanish, if you want," Cruz said.

An April poll of registered voters by Quinnipiac University found Hispanic voters backing O'Rourke over Cruz 51 to 33 percent.

But O’Rourke struggled for traction in many heavily Hispanic counties during the March 6 Democratic primary, especially in the Rio Grande Valley and other border counties. O’Rourke earned just 62 percent of Democratic votes statewide, while a little-known primary opponent that analysts say benefited from a Hispanic surname gobbled up nearly a quarter of the vote share.

Cruz has since sought to curb any advantage O’Rourke could have with Hispanic voters, whom Democrats have long hoped would help deliver a blue wave in the Lone Star State.

Almost immediately after they each won their respective primaries, Team Cruz released a campaign jingle that accused O’Rourke, who is of Irish descent, of changing his first name from Robert to “Beto” to gain favor with Hispanic voters.

The Democrat, who learned Spanish while growing up in El Paso and who has held bilingual town halls while in political office, responded with a photo from his childhood in which he wore a sweater with “Beto” stitched on the front.

Cruz relished the backlash — which served to highlight his Hispanic roots — as the senator was repeatedly asked by reporters why he’d mock O’Rourke’s nickname when he is called “Ted” instead of his birth name, Rafael.

"You're absolutely right. My name is Rafael Edward Cruz," Cruz told CNN host Chris Cuomo following the release of the campaign ad, then playing up his family’s immigration story. "I am the son of my father Rafael Cruz, an immigrant from Cuba who came to Texas with nothing."