Beto O'Rourke, running against Senator Ted Cruz in Texas, argued this week that therer was "nothing more American" than NFL players taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. The far left in Hollywood and elsewhere cheered  O'Rourke's comments, which went viral almost immediately.

But how did it play in Texas? The Cruz campaign and the candidate were delighted to point out how Hollywood is ralling around O'Rourke.

Washington Examiner:

O'Rourke got retweets from Kevin Bacon, Mark Hamill, and Ricky Gervais. LeBron James called it a "must watch" and "salute[d]" the Texas Democrat for his "candid thoughtful words." Ellen Degeneres reposted the video and said, "I would like to meet you, Beto O'Rourke." Even Colin Kaepernick retweeted it.

This is great for O'Rourke's approval ratings in Hollywood. Among the Texas voters whose votes he's seeking? Maybe not so much. And that's probably why not a single one of those 185,000 retweets came from O'Rourke or his campaign.

Cruz, on the other hand, can't stop tweeting about it. "Beto raising big $$ from Hollywood by supporting NFL protests of the national anthem. But in Texas? Vast majority of Texans stand for the flag, honor our veterans, and support the brave men & women of law enforcement. People can protest without disrespecting the flag," he said on Thursday, before posting several articles about O'Rourke's comments.

I can think of a lot of things that are "more American" than kneeling during the playing of the anthem, so O'Rourke's statement is idiotic on its face. But it certainly gave cover to the far left and NFL players who are desperate to prove to themselves that there's nothing wrong with offending millions of people by disrespecting the national anthem.

Anyone in Texas who didn't know how far left O'Rourke is on the political spectrum might be influenced by this statement. But surely, that number is pretty small. Right now, Cruz is suffering in the polls for being an incumbent and a Republican. O'Rourke has been running a "I'm not Ted Cruz" campaign which has brought him some success.

As we get closer to election day and people begin to focus on the candidates, it's more than likely that Cruz will begin to pull away. Unless Cruz voters stay home in huge numbers and Democratic turnout is higher than expected, it's hard to see how this former folk singer can best him.