Democrat Beto O'Rourke said Friday that he raised more than $38.1 million for his Texas Senate campaign in the last three months, a record haul that more than triples rival Ted Cruz's total – despite recent polls showing a widening lead for the Republican incumbent.

The latest Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Cruz up by 7 percentage points. Some polls have him up by 9, the same margin Donald Trump enjoyed over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.

O'Rourke said his contributions in July, August and September came from 800,000-plus donors nationwide. The El Paso congressman, who has refused support from outside political groups and declined to hire consultants and pollsters, has become a star in national liberal circles.

His totals through Sept. 30 shattered the previous quarterly fundraising high for a U.S. Senate race of about $22 million that Rick Lazio notched in 2000, during his unsuccessful bid against then-first lady Hillary Clinton.

'This is a historic campaign of people: all people, all the time, everywhere, every single day – that's how we're going to win this election,' O'Rourke said in a statement.

Texas Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke is running for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's seat and he has a record-breaking war chest to ride out the final pre-election weeks

Cruz trails money-wise but is stillbeating his challenger in statewide opinion polls

O'Rourke's fans are hoping he'll catch lightning in a bottle but wary of counting any chickens

Cruz's backers are confident he'll win a second 6-year term sinc eno Democrat has won a state-wide elected offive in 24 years

Cruz previously announced raising $12 million over the same period. He'd predicted, correctly as it turns out, that O'Rourke would exceed $30 million for the quarter.

But O'Rourke's good news comes amid polls that have begun to show him trailing Cruz by about 10 points after closing to within striking distance earlier in the race. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

O'Rourke has attracted attention throughout Texas and beyond with an energetic campaign that has taken him to all of the state's 254 counties – even deep red areas Democrats gave up on decades ago – and for a background that includes a stint with a punk rock band.

Even conservative standard-bearer Matt Drudge, creator of the Drudge Report, seemed to promote O'Rourke on Friday into the ranks of the globally newsworthy.

His top banner headline read 'SUPERBETO' and BETOMANIA!' during the afternoon.

'Is Beto the Trump-buster Dems have been praying for?' Drudge asked in a provocative tweet. 'He seemingly has it all. Good demos, sex appeal; a fundraising powerhouse. Kennedyesque [the teeth]. And he has a great swing! Watch Out.'

Actor Robert De Niro told Bloomberg on Thursday that '[t]his Beto O’Rourke seems interesting' as a potential Democratic presidential candidate.

Cruz is leading by 7 points in an average of polls maintained by Real Clear Politics; that margin is growing

O'Rourke has visited every county in Texas, including Republican enclaves where Democrats usually don't bother to show up

Despite his longshot status, O'Rourke has now outraised Cruz every quarter but one since announcing in March 2017 that he was giving up his House seat to run for Senate. His latest bonanza far outpaces the about $23.6 million he had raised through the entire rest of the race through June 30.

Full financial disclosures aren't due until next week, and neither O'Rourke nor Cruz has announced how much their campaign war chests are worth with the Nov. 6 election looming. Still O'Rourke had $13.9-plus million on hand through June, compared to Cruz's $9.2 million then, according to federal disclosure records.

All that money ensures both candidates will be able to continue flooding the airwaves in major media markets around Texas. Cruz, and outside groups supporting him, have released a series of attack ads, criticizing O'Rourke for his stance on immigration and his publicly defending NFL player protests during the national anthem.

Internet trendsetter Matt Drudge appeared to have caught Beto fever on Friday

O'Rourke has refused to go negative, instead recently recording a 30-second TV spot in real-time – including doing multiple takes – on Facebook live. He declared: 'You've probably seen the negative attack ads seeking to scare you about what we're trying to do for this country at this critical moment' before offering a message of unity across party lines.

Cruz has repeatedly brushed off his opponent's monster fundraising, saying the 'extreme left' is energized by hatred for President Donald Trump and that, since there are more Republicans in Texas than Democrats, all he has to do is turn out his base to win. But being so flush allows O'Rourke to add staffers and try to motivate low-frequency voters in Texas, which traditionally has one of the lowest turnout rates in the nation.

Cruz also dismisses O'Rourke supporters as carpetbaggers and has decried 'Hollywood liberals' backing his opponent – even though, through most of the race, the incumbent has accepted more money from donors outside Texas than has O'Rourke.