Texas Democrat To Challenge Ted Cruz In 2018

The Texas Democrat who won national headlines for live-streaming the House gun control sit-in says he’ll challenge Ted Cruz for his Senate seat next year. From the Texas Tribune:

U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Thursday he is all but certain to make a run for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s seat in 2018. “I’ve had the chance to talk to a lot of people around the state of Texas over the last six weeks, and I will tell you, I’m very encouraged,” he told The Texas Tribune on Thursday in an interview. “And I am continuing to listen to and talk to folks, and I’m just becoming more and more encouraged.”

“It’s very likely that I will run for Senate in 2018,” the El Paso Democrat added. In a previous interview with the Tribune, O’Rourke kept the door open to a run in 2018 or 2020. O’Rourke just began his third term in the U.S. House and has promised to term-limit himself in that chamber. National Democrats are cautiously watching the early movement of the race. The national map is extremely challenging for the party, and 10 Senate Democratic incumbents are up for re-election in states President-elect Donald Trump carried.

RELATED: House Speaker Paul Ryan is backing a rules change that would punish members for taking photos or video on the chamber floor.