AUSTIN, Texas -- The race for U.S. Senate in Texas has shifted into higher gear. Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke's campaign announced Tuesday it raised a staggering first quarter fundraising haul.

His Republican rival, Sen. Ted Cruz, said in an interview with Capital Tonight that he won't beat that and warned supporters of the energized left.

To watch the extended one-on-one interview with Sen. Cruz, click the video link above.

Cruz is on a 12-city, three-day re-election campaign tour and stopped in Austin Tuesday night. Before a crowd of about 100 supporters, Cruz revived some familiar rhetoric -- railing against Obamacare and warning of new threats to gun rights. He said former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who has called for repealing the Second Amendment, doesn’t understand it’s needed for self-defense.

“That’s Texas,” Cruz said. “That’s who we are…The right you have to protect your family and to protect your life."

Without naming his opponent, Cruz cast Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke as too liberal for Texas.

"There are some in Washington who believe the right direction to go is more taxes, higher regulation, more debt, more government control, who believe that our cities should be sanctuaries for those who are here illegally."

But once aboard his 'Cruzer' campaign bus we asked about O'Rourke's $6.7 million fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2018. Cruz said he won’t top that.

"Well listen, we haven't totaled it up yet. We're still doing that,” he said. “We're not going to be anywhere near close to the numbers Congressman O'Rourke is putting out. He's raising a ton on money because liberals across the country are really excited."

Cruz and his opponent have also traded jabs about Cruz's White House bid and whether that distracted the senator from representing Texas for much of his first term.

So, what about 2020? When asked if he’d commit to serving his full term, Cruz said his intention is he’s "running for re-election and serving in the Senate."

And while Cruz and President Trump have had their differences, Cruz said he agrees with the president's push to put the military at the border until a wall is built.

"I think we need to do much, much more to secure the border. That is something Texans overwhelmingly agree with," Cruz said.

Cruz will spend the next seven months trying to make sure a majority of Texans agree with him and get out and vote.

Cruz is scheduled to wrap up his 12-city re-election tour with stops in Midland, Canyon, Wichita Falls and Fort Worth Wednesday.