Former Texas congressman and 2020 presidential candidate Beto ORourke is refusing to commit to supporting fellow Democrats on the ticket if he were to secure the partys nomination.

In a heated exchange reported by CNN , ORourke faced a New Hampshire voter who pressed him during a Friday campaign stop in Lebanon on his refusal to support Gina Ortiz Jones, a Texas Democrat who launched a failed bid for Congress in the 2018 midterms.

I cant take a pledge to support every single Democrat in the country, ORourke told Deb Nelson, who chairs the Hanover/Lyme Democratic Party . I need to know about them first, right? Would you want me to make a blanket commitment about people I know nothing about, who Ive never met?

Following ORourkes decision not to back Ortiz Jones, Republican Rep. Will Hurd won his districts seat on a razor-thin margin of just 1,150 votes, according to The New York Times .

Still, ORourke was credited with helping to prove that Democrats in Texas had a fighting chance after he narrowly lost to well-known Republican Sen. Ted Cruz that same year. The hard-fought race triggered what became known as the Beto effect , showing political newcomers that they have a shot even when running against well-financed incumbents in areas where theyve historically enjoyed strong support.

His coattails in the statewide race also appeared to benefit other Democrats on the ballot , with control of several U.S. House and state legislative seats flipping Democratic.