Article snippet: Rep. MORE. O'Rourke shattered fundraising records with a stunning $38.1 million haul between July and September — the largest quarterly haul in U.S. Senate history and more than tripling Cruz’s $12 million. It was a sensational fundraising number that has exceeded some presidential hauls, and reflects how O'Rourke has taken the political world by storm with his bid to upset Cruz, a former presidential candidate and conservative firebrand with his own national following. Yet, O’Rourke’s fundraising prowess distracts from the reality that Cruz is ahead in the race, and appeared to have strengthened his position during the contentious and deeply partisan fight over Justice MORE's Supreme Court confirmation. O'Rourke's challenge is to keep up his momentum, something that he'll seek to do at a critical debate on Tuesday night, their second of the race. “I think this money represents a tremendous bump for Beto. The need to get the campaign from registration mode to mobilization mode is imperative,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. Political observers say Democrats’ biggest problem in Texas elections is turnout, particularly in historically low-turnout midterm cycles. They argue O’Rourke needs to mobilize Democrats, while also swaying independents and swing voters dissatisfied with MORE — a costly and time-intensive feat to execute in the final three and a half weeks of the campaign. “This gives them enough ammunition... Link to the full article to read more