Democrat Beto O'Rourke says he'll run for Senate if Texans want him to

"But if it comes to pass that this is what the people of Texas want, that it's the highest and best use of what I can give to you, then yes I will," O'Rourke said while responding to someone at a town hall event who asked the former lawmaker if he would run.

The Democrat announced but later dropped a presidential bid in 2019. 

He lost a 2018 U.S. Senate contest to incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. 

Responding to a post on X regarding O'Rourke's comment that he would run if that's what Texans want, GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah tweeted, "They don't."

Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who has served in the Senate for more than two decades, is up for re-election in 2026.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has mounted a Republican Senate primary challenge against Cornyn.