EL PASO Democrat Beto ORourkes bid for Senate seat in a reliably red state ended in defeat on Tuesday, dashing the hopes of progressives in Texas and beyond who had yearned for a Congress free of Republican Ted Cruz .

I am as inspired, as hopeful, as I have ever been in my life, and tonights loss does nothing to diminish the way that I feel about Texas or this country, ORourke told disappointed supporters at a packed Southwest University Park stadium in El Paso after conceding. Were not going to define ourselves by who or what were against or afraid of, or scared of.

Brianna Nevarez, 21, cast the first ballot of her life in this election after her mother inspired her to take an interest in the ORourke campaign. Her father, a veteran and lifelong Republican, also voted for the Democratic underdog.

I want to cry, Nevarez said. I had so much hope.

Despite a parade of celebratory national media coverage and a whopping $70 million in donations including a record haul from small donors and no money from corporate political action committees polls had consistently shown the odds were against ORourkes chances of derailing Cruzs re-election. ORourke, 46, narrowed the gap in several surveys in the campaigns waning days, but never closed it.

Instead, Republicans continue to dominate the major political offices in a state whose changing demographics have made it majority-minority but whose electorate retains a conservative tilt. The GOP hasnt lost a statewide election since 1994.