On a nationwide basis, Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke is far more popular than Ted Cruz, one of the least appealing people in political history. The challenger has raised an obscene $61.8 million, none of it from political action committees—a figure that blows Cruz's $35.1 million out of the desert.

Unfortunately, O'Rourke's fate will be decided by Texans, and only those Texans who actually vote on November 6. In a state with low voter enthusiasm and your standard iterations of Republican-spearheaded voter suppression, every little boost of publicity helps his odds, which is why the recent endorsements of the right-leaning Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle might—MIGHT—be significant.

From the Morning News:

O’Rourke is no conservative Democrat. His positions on taxes, immigration, the judiciary, federal regulations and health care are further to the left than many statewide voters would like. But he is shattering expectations in a state where Democrats haven’t won a statewide race in decades. The dollars he has raised and the number of supporters he has garnered are evidence of an embedded hunger in this state and country for a campaign that’s based on unifying communities.

In the divisive times in which we live, we believe that tone and leadership are the top issues with which to judge these candidates' tenures in office. So we’re placing a bet on Beto.

Last week, the Chronicle's board also endorsed O'Rourke, awarding him four-and-a-half stars out of five (so, an album of the year contender), while giving Cruz just two stars (so, a Greta Van Fleet record).