Beto O’Rourke faces new political perils as launch of fall campaign begins

By contrast, Cruz has an effective, traditional campaign structure, battle tested by a contentious 2016 presidential foray, that is supported by an effective statewide Republican infrastructure as well as a national one intent on keeping a GOP-controlled U.S. Senate. That was on display when the Cruz team was able to produce and distribute its own commercial that effectively distorted the O’Rourke NFL virus video and aimed at neutralizing any O’Rourke advantage—all within days of the O’Rourke video going viral.

Some Texas Democrats with ties to his campaign don’t think O’Rourke’s campaign is equipped to do the same. But in the age of social media, O’Rourke may not have to. The Republican Party of Texas learned Wednesday, for example, that if you’re going to troll O’Rourke, you better be prepared to get trolled in return.

The party’s official Twitter account tried to make fun of O’Rourke’s announcement that a tentatively scheduled debate with Cruz isn’t going to happen. O’Rourke said Cruz was making too many unreasonable demands. Gigging a candidate for passing on a debate is one thing, but the state party reached far into O’Rourke’s past to make fun of him. First, the Texas GOP made fun of a recent viral video of O’Rourke skateboarding in a parking lot.