But there also is evidence of milder rhetoric and appeals to moderates, independents and the split-ticket voters who voted for O’Rourke for Senate and Abbott for governor in 2018.

O’Rourke lost to Cruz that year by about 215,000 votes, or 2.6 percent. His travels this week drew protesters — a man with a “Biden Sucks” sign and cardboard Trump cutout outside the Pecos event, a small crew of hecklers at the Midland rally — but also some curious Republicans…

O’Rourke also talks more pragmatically about guns than he did during his “Hell yes” days. He acknowledged to his audiences that he still doesn’t believe people should own an AR-15 or AK-47, but he placed a greater emphasis on building a consensus around red-flag laws and raising the buying age to 21. And although O’Rourke praised elements of the “defund the police” movement in 2020, he told a voter who expressed support for the cause Wednesday in Pecos that he didn’t “see eye to eye” with him, arguing a need to provide police with resources and training.

“That’s how we’re going to win,” O’Rourke told NBC News. “It’s not Republicans, it’s not Democrats. It’s got to be all of us. And it’s got to be the way in which we choose to respond to the challenges that we face right now. We’ve got to do something better.”