His feet couldn’t stay still. His hands traced his lips and chin in thought. His facial muscles showed through his cheeks as he clenched his jaw. Fellow elected officials readied the crowd for the main event. Beto O’Rourke is not one of the alien politicians who make us question whether he’s one of us, he showed his humanity during his visit to San Antonio and he is a candidate Roadrunners should consider.

Last Monday night, Beto O’Rourke drew a crowd that filled VFW Post 9186 on the southside of San Antonio from the stage to the doorway during the Town Hall event in the battle to unseat Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the midterm election in November. O’Rourke may prove to be the progressive candidate so many Texans have been looking for after the last two years of a radical congressional deadlock. A democratic US Representative from Texas’ 13th district in El Paso, O’Rourke has made a career of working alongside republican colleagues. O’Rourke famously gained visibility by live streaming a road trip from San Antonio to Washington, D.C. with Republican US Representative Will Hurd of San Antonio when airports in the D.C. area were closed due to weather in 2017. Actions like these display O’Rourke’s awareness of the modern era.

Running on a platform of increasing the affordability of higher education, ensuring the protections veterans deserve here at home, expanding health care for all and fighting the construction of walls, Beto’s candidacy hopes to create a better world than the one we are in now for future generations to come. O’Rourke has the long term vision that business oriented politicians ignore, when their only concerns are profits at the end of each quarter.

O’Rourke stands out in is his commitment to refusing special interest money and donations from any political action committees (PACs). In doing so, O’Rourke is making an oath to be a representative of the people, the real people, of our state and not the wealthy few who wish to keep the status quo. O’Rourke seeks to be a senator to fight for sensible legislation, to be a senator for us, not use the senate as a stepping stone to more fame and power in the executive branch. Considering the performance of Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential election, his actions clearly demonstrated his fear of stepping out of republican line. For Cruz, it was easy to denounce Trump during the primaries. Once Trump won the nomination of his party, Cruz’s backbone all but disappeared from his body in his failure to confront Trump’s clear violations of Cruz’s christian values.

“We’ve got to be for something,” says O’Rourke in a raspy voice weakened by the campaign trail, “we’ve got to put the smallness, the pettiness, the hate behind us.” 2018 is the chance for Texans, and all Americans, to take a stand, to make their voices heard to a congress that chooses political deadlock over any degree of bipartisan cooperation, voters have the power to change the tides of political (in)action in Washington. Quoting Defense Secretary General James Mattis from a personal conversation between the two, O’Rourke tells the crowd “far more powerful is the power of inspiration than is intimidation.” He seeks to inspire the crafters of a better tomorrow. Let’s craft.