– The race between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke in Texas is emerging as one of the must-watch races of the midterms. Cruz, of course, is the Republican incumbent hoping to keep his Senate seat, while O'Rourke is a 45-year-old three-term congressman mounting a surprisingly strong challenge. A new poll by Emerson College out this week has the race in a statistical dead heat, reports the Hill, which notes that Texas has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in three decades. Here's a look at the latest, including O'Rourke's growing national profile: Rock star: The Texas GOP tweeted an old photo of O'Rourke this week showing him back in the '90s with his old punk band, Foss. The photo was meant to mock O'Rourke, and some Republicans think it did just that. "Wearing a dress?" tweeted one strategist. But an analysis at the Washington Post thinks the photo actually endeared O'Rourke to far more people than it alienated. His "rock-star status is cemented by Texas GOP, handing Dems an icon they desperately need," reads the headline. Oh, he skateboards, too.