Beto O'Rourke has benefitted in the close Texas race for senator from liberals who "are really, really mad," incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, told CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday.
"If you look at the dynamics, we've got numbers on our side. There are a lot more conservatives than there are liberals," Cruz told CBS's Jon Wertheim.
"What the O'Rourke campaign has had on their side is intensity," he continued. "The liberals who are in Texas are really, really mad. They hate President Trump. That anger is dangerous. I mean, that anger is mobilizing. It means they're gonna show up no matter what. As I've said, they'll crawl over broken glass to show up."
The race has been one of the tightest in the country, and recent polls still show Cruz with a slim advantage over O'Rourke, a three-term Democratic congressman. Cruz is still favored, but O'Rourke seems to be closing the gap in a state where he shouldn't have a chance.
"I think the way in which we are running it, without PACs, without special interests, without pollsters, without consultants, go into every county, all 254, at this really divided moment – everybody knowing they’re invited to be a part of this – and the fact that some of your stereotypes about what you think Texas is isn't necessarily true," O'Rourke told "60 Minutes."
Cruz acknowledged that intensity "turns people out at the polls," while O'Rourke said, "the more people that show up, the better we do."
"The people who are fired up right now are fired up to do something great for this country," he added.
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