Rep. Beto O'Rourke Beto O'RourkeJimmy Carter says his son smoked pot with Willie Nelson on White House roof O'Rourke endorses Kennedy for Senate: 'A champion for the values we're most proud of' 2020 Democrats do convention Zoom call MORE (D-Texas) acknowledged that his U.S. Senate bid against Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzMurkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates MORE (R-Texas) may seem "crazy" to some people, but he said he had seen signs he can win the race.

"I can understand how people think that this is crazy that I think that I’m going to win. But so much of this is crazy. Right?" O'Rourke told Politico Magazine.

He noted that his hometown of El Paso has never produced a winning candidate for a statewide office and that Democratic Senate victories in Texas are rare, with the last being former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen winning in 1988.

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"So why in the world, against Ted Cruz of all people? That guy almost won the Republican presidential nomination," O’Rourke told Politico Magazine. "I think the confidence is born not out of any kind of mental illness, but out of what I am seeing and hearing."

Cruz was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and has gained notoriety for his hard-line conservatism and association with the Tea Party movement that emerged after former President Obama's election.

He vied unsuccessfully for the GOP's 2016 presidential nomination, before ultimately finishing second in the primaries and conceding to then-candidate Donald Trump.

O'Rourke declared nearly a year ago that he would challenge Cruz for his Texas Senate seat. His candidacy comes as Democrats are hoping to seize on Trump's low approval ratings to target a number of Republican-held seats in the House and the Senate.

Cruz won his Senate seat by nearly 16 points in 2012 against Democrat Paul Sadler. President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE won Texas by 9 points in 2016.