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Article snippet: Texas Democrats had their strongest turnout numbers in more than a decade in Tuesday’s primaries, but Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s weaker-than-expected performance indicates that he’s still got a long way to go in his bid to take on Sen. MORE (R-Texas). O’Rourke won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night, officially setting up his high-profile clash with Cruz in November. But the congressman won just 62 percent of the vote against candidates with far less name recognition and resources, signaling that he still needs to boost his statewide name recognition. O’Rourke, who’s represented the El Paso-based district since 2013, has been campaigning and fundraising non-stop since he jumped into the race last March. Yet his two relatively unknown primary challengers managed to secure a sizable portion of the vote, despite spending virtually no money. Texas political observers say O’Rourke will need to spend the coming months becoming better acquainted with voters, but they still believe he’s the kind of candidate who can drive up turnout for Democrats in the fall and make more inroads for the party in the deep-red state. “It’s clear that this is going to be an uphill battle, but at the same time the Democrats are going to need someone like O’Rourke who’s going to invest and energize the Democratic Party and its voters,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. “Although he’s unlikely to win, the fact that he can energi... Link to the full article to read more