A Houston-area homeowners' association says an order to remove a giant sign painted on their front lawn isn't a political matter, but one of the HOA's bylaws.

A Katy couple thinks it's because their neighbors don't like Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke.

Matthew Duffy, a retired Marine, and his wife, Shannon Bennett, started painting the sign that reads "Beto" in giant letters Oct. 14 and ran afoul of the Chesterfield Community Association shortly after that, the Houston Chronicle reported.

O'Rourke, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent Republican Ted Cruz in a hotly contested U.S. Senate race.

The couple received a visit from HOA officers while they were painting their sign and were told it was a violation of deed restrictions.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (left), D-El Paso, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, debated Oct. 16 in San Antonio. (Tom Reel / The Associated Press)

"We researched this very carefully before we did it, and I don't believe that we're violating any of the deed restrictions," Bennett said, according to the Chronicle. HOA president Nicolas Jessett "said that we're violating the landscaping requirement and it's a nonpermanent change."

Bennett and Duffy counter that they are in compliance with the state's property code.

"The [email subject line] says political sign violation and then in the body it says you've violated the landscape declaration," Duffy told Katy Magazine. "I know I've violated their sense of political affiliation, but that's it."

The HOA's management company issued a statement regarding the situation.

"The association's rules are consistent with state law and Section 202.009 of the Texas Property Code, in that it prohibits political signs that are attached to plant material," read the statement, which ran in Katy Magazine.

The HOA has given the couple five days to remove the sign or the organization will do it for them — and fine them, Houston television station KTRK reported.

They have until Oct. 30 to appeal if they do not comply with the order, the Chronicle reported.

In the meantime, Duffy and Bennett are standing their ground.

"Since Texas property code supersedes HOA declarations, I'm going under the assumption I haven't violated anything," Duffy told Katy Magazine.