Republicans have firmly held the Texas governorship since 1995. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign is both a long shot and Democrats’ best challenge in decades.This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Efim Shapiro and Paul Robert Mounsey, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplainedSupport Today, Explained by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcastsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices