One congressional race that is likely to be a leading indicator of how well or poorly Democrats perform in the November midterm elections is the Senate contest between Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) in the conservative state of Texas, according to political analyst Bill Schneider.

“The candidate to watch in this election is Beto O’Rourke," Schneider, a former CNN political analyst who now teaches at George Mason University, said Tuesday on “What America’s Thinking.”

“If he beats Ted Cruz in Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1994, he will be on the next Democratic ticket—maybe as vice president, maybe even as president,” said Schneider, who also said there are “just so many tight races, and it’s not clear yet how big this wave is going to be and how strong it’ll be around the country.”

O’Rourke has his work cut out for him in his attempt to unseat Cruz. In a poll released last week by Quinnipiac University, Cruz was ahead by 9 points among likely voters.

The senator’s lead was 4 points in a survey released Sept. 12 by a Dallas CBS affiliate which found that 20 percent of likely voters had not decided who to back. That poll also showed Cruz had less support than his fellow Republican, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who had the backing of 53 percent of respondents compared to Cruz's 40 percent.

Cruz and O'Rourke faced off in their first televised debate last Friday and are scheduled to have two debates before the Nov. 6 election.

—Matthew Sheffield