With Election Day rapidly approaching on Nov. 6, the Texas Senate race is drawing to a close. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) and Neal Dikeman (L) both challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for his seat in this election.

“This Senate race between O’Rourke and Cruz is one of the most highly watched matchups in this year’s midterm elections, with the result expected to be closer than usual for the traditionally Republican state,” wrote Marina Fang at The Huffington Post.

Cruz has served as one of two U. S. Senators for Texas since 2012 and seeks senatorial re-election after a lost Presidential nomination in 2016 for the Republican candidacy.

O’Rourke has served as a U. S. Representative for the 16th Congressional District of Texas since 2013.

Neal Dikeman, a venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur from Houston, is running as a Libertarian candidate with no prior political experience.

Standing with The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, The San Antonio Express News and many others, we choose to endorse O’Rourke for Senate. Our editorial board, composed of eight members, voted on this endorsement, 5-3.

In light of current times, fraught with political tension, O’Rourke provides a beacon of hope with a campaign focused on human dignity and personal humility. O’Rourke shows a promising, reputable campaign that showcases credibility, focuses on community, initiates change and has capital backing.

In terms of credibility, O’Rourke won the Democratic primary in March with 61.8 percent of the popular vote, according to The New York Times. He has received multiple endorsements from reputable newspapers across Texas, such as The Houston Chronicle.

Notably, the Chronicle previously endorsed Ted Cruz in the 2012 Election. This election, its editorial board stated: “With eyes clear but certainly not starry, we enthusiastically endorse Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate.”

O’Rourke has focused on community throughout his campaign. He made it a priority to visit all 254 counties in Texas during the race, something that few candidates do. All of these visits were constituent-focused, and occurred within a 15-month period.

Additionally, one of O’Rourke’s goals is to seek fruitful conversations that heal communities instead of divide them. While many candidates would specifically focus their campaigns on areas that will donate to their campaigns, true leadership is spending time everywhere simply because you care. That is Beto O’Rourke.

“When, in the course of human events, a people become so divided among themselves that they can no longer engage in meaningful political discourse or even remain civil to one another, it is time to take bold steps forward,” the Dallas Morning News Editorial stated. “For this reason more than any other, we favor U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke for U.S. Senate.”

We also believe that O’Rourke has the ability to provide the change that Texans want and need.

The Houston Chronicle affirms that O’Rourke has taken many positions that are bipartisan, such as his focus “on improving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, with special attention to mental health.” He also supports free trade and global markets, which are vital to Texas’s economy.

Additionally, “as a lifelong border resident, O’Rourke supports our trade ties with Mexico and our need to sustain and encourage those ties (despite the anti-Mexican malice that emanates from the White House),” as stated by The Houston Chronicle. He has even partnered on past legislation with U.S. Sen John Cornyn (R-TX), showing his ability to work with policymakers despite party.

When considering capital backing, O’Rourke has surprisingly run a full grass-roots campaign, refusing to accept any PAC money. Despite this, his “campaign took in a whopping $38 million in the third quarter, compared with $12 million for Cruz,” according to Jacob Pramuk at CNBC News.

Currently, O’Rourke has a 46.8 percent forecasted vote share, according to FiveThirtyEight, a reputable polling aggregate website. Despite this, when considering O’Rourke’s campaign, “the dollars he has raised and the number of supporters he has garnered are evidence of an embedded hunger in this state and country for a campaign that’s based on unifying communities,” according to The Dallas Morning News.

Regardless of what election results show, Beto O’Rourke has earned respect with the way that he has run his campaign. His heart for the people of Texas is evident in the motto that flashes across the screen if you click on his website: “We all have the chance to succeed.”