Article snippet: AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democrat Beto O'Rourke said Friday that he raised a record-breaking $38.1 million in the last three months, more than tripling the haul of his Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, in a Texas race that’s become one of the country’s hottest — if not its closest. O'Rourke said the funding came from more than 800,000 donors nationwide despite refusing donations from outside political groups and declining to hire consultants and pollsters. The El Paso congressman has become a star in national liberal circles, and his totals through Sept. 30 broke quarterly Senate fundraising records for non-self-funded campaigns. ‘‘This is a historic campaign of people: all people, all the time, everywhere, every single day — that’s how we’re going to win this election,’’ O'Rourke said in a statement. Cruz previously announced raising $12 million over the same period. He'd predicted, correctly as it turns out, that O'Rourke would triple that. But O'Rourke’s good news comes amid polls that have begun to show him trailing Cruz by about 10 points after closing to within striking distance earlier in the race. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994. Despite his longshot status, O'Rourke has now outraised Cruz every quarter but one since announcing in March 2017 that he was giving up his House seat to run for Senate. He’s attracted attention throughout Texas and beyond with an energetic campaign that has taken him to all of the state’s 254 counties... Link to the full article to read more