Someone swiped the Beto O’Rourke sign from my yard. Maybe it was a kid trying to be cute or an angry fan of Ted Cruz, the incumbent who is in a tight race with O’Rourke for a U.S. Senate seat. I wasn’t that surprised about the theft considering this country’s political divide – now wider than ever with President Donald Trump in the White House.

Cruz supporters seem genuinely worried about O’Rourke, even in Bastrop. Cruz is so concerned he brought Donald Trump Jr. to Texas to campaign for him. Recall that Junior infamously said: “I love it” when told during the 2016 presidential campaign that Russians were offering incriminating information on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

President Trump, who called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” during the 2016 campaign, also agreed to campaign for Cruz. Cruz has been kissing up to Trump despite Trump saying awful things about Cruz’s wife and father during the campaign. Apparently where Cruz is concerned, ambition trumps courage and principle.

Trump’s words from the 2016 campaign continue to haunt Cruz. A billboard currently being trucked around Texas contains the following Twitter quote from Trump: “Why would the people of Texas support Ted Cruz when he has accomplished absolutely nothing for them. He is another all talk, no action pol!” Beto supporters would agree.

Not long ago Cruz was considered a shoo-in for re-election. But O’Rourke, a former city councilman and current Democratic U.S congressman from El Paso, has been attracting crowds statewide with his positive message of fighting for average working Americans. Recent polls have rated the race a toss-up.

Gov. Greg Abbott recently called O’Rourke “a cult-like, very popular figure.” I would call him Kennedyesque. Like John F. Kennedy, O’Rourke is good-looking, charismatic and inspiring – qualities Cruz lacks.

I was one of the estimated 700 people at O’Rourke’s rally in Elgin last week, two days after 55,000 cheering fans flocked to an O’Rourke rally with Willie Nelson in Austin. While Willie sang his new song, “Vote ‘Em Out” at the Austin rally, another Texas music legend Ray Wylie Hubbard, sang “Vote for Beto, Not Cruz” to the enthusiastic Elgin crowd.

Hubbard gave O’Rourke a custom-made guitar. It was a fitting gift as O’Rourke – a one-time professional musician – received a rock-star welcome, as fans pressed around him to get a photo as he arrived.

I first met O’Rourke a year ago when he spoke to about 200 people jammed in a Bastrop restaurant. If the earlier O’Rourke was authentic and refreshing, today’s O’Rourke is even more polished. His message includes: making the economy work for everyone not just the wealthy; providing affordable health care for all; supporting our veterans; maintaining a woman’s right to make decisions over her own body; rewriting immigration laws; and offering young immigrants who came to the U.S. with their parents the path to citizenship. The message resonates with voters tired of the name-calling and negativity from the likes of Trump and Cruz. Unlike Cruz, O’Rourke won’t take money from political action committees.

While O’Rourke is getting most of the press coverage, he’s not the only smart, qualified Democrat getting attention in Texas. Many new Democratic faces are competing for state and national political offices. They include Michelle Ryan, running for state representative, District 17; Mike Siegel, candidate for U.S. representative, District 10; and Eric Holguin, candidate for U.S. representative, District 27 – districts covering all or part of Bastrop County. They share O’Rourke’s vision for Texas and hope to ride the wave of O’Rourke’s support to victory.

Meanwhile, I got a new Beto yard sign. In doing so I made a contribution to Democrats. If this sign disappears, I’ll do it again. Thank you, thief, for your support.