For Democrats stuck in the basement of statewide Texas politics, Beto O'Rourke is fresh air.

That doesn't mean the two-term El Paso congressman will beat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, but it does signal that the party out of power is doing a better job of fielding candidates.

O'Rourke, 44, is not some has-been, or a product of the nutty fringe. He has solid ideas and understands that America needs bipartisanship in order to end gridlock in Washington. His embrace of social media makes him ideal for younger voters. He's a former singer, guitarist and punk rocker.

His ideas are not conventional, particularly since he supports term limits and the legalization of marijuana to curb drug trafficking.

His broader appeal doesn't mean he's not part of the resistance against President Donald Trump. He is, and his long-shot mission to down Cruz is in part a reaction to the stunning election of Trump as president.

In a familiar refrain, he discusses how he doesn't want to disappoint his children, when they get older and ask him how he operated in the era of Trump.

"I didn't want to wait until 2020," he said during a Dallas stop last week. "I didn't wait for someone to come along to fix this for us."

Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, speaks to supporters at Eight Bells Ale House in Dallas. ((Gromer Jeffers Jr. / Staff))

Nearly 600 people jammed into the backyard at Eight Bells Ale House near Fair Park to hear and get a glimpse of O'Rourke. They spent the Friday happy hour at a political rally. Some of them sat in trees or on fences. Those in front appeared mesmerized as O'Rourke rattled off a routine stump speech with a dash of flair.

"We decided that 2018 started right here, March 31, in 2017," he said as the crowd roared.

Areas like Dallas County are important to any Democrat's chances of winning a statewide race. The formula involves maximizing the base vote from urban areas, where Democrats are strong, and not getting crushed everyone else.

Though Dallas County is clearly blue, there are votes that Democrats routinely leave on the table.

How do you get those votes?

It starts with the candidate. Unlike Democrats in past elections, O'Rourke has the tools to electrify the base and perhaps get some independents as well. More important, the Irish-American who speaks fluent Spanish could be successful in attracting Hispanic votes.

A supporter gets a bird's-eye view of Beto O'Rourks's speech in Dallas. ((Gromer Jeffers Jr. / Staff))

"What I'm really excited about is taking back this country and taking back this state," he said in Dallas.

Still, O'Rourke has a tough mission.

First he must win the Democratic primary. That won't be easy if Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio gets into the race. The two appeared together Saturday at a Democratic Party rally in San Antonio.

A contested primary is not a negative, as competition often results in a lasting energy.

"Beto and I are friends, and we've talked about it, and if we have a primary, as he said, we'll make sure we'll do it in a way that makes Texans proud," Castro said.

Cruz is the bigger problem. He remains the most popular Republican in Texas. And given that Republican Greg Abbott beat Democrat Wendy Davis by 20 percentage points in the race for governor, Democrats have a long way to go to break through the Republican red wall.

Trump gives them hope. He beat Clinton by only 9 percentage points, which they hope signals a trend in the right direction.

Whether he wins next year or not, O'Rourke is the type of candidate Democrats must recruit in order to achieve their goals, though winning may be a few cycles away.

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