Former congressman and 2018 nominee for senator of Texas Beto O’Rourke announced on Thursday that he is officially running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

In 2018, O’Rourke made headlines polling neck-and-neck with incumbent senator and former Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, prompting anticipation that he might become the first Democrat to win senatorship in Texas since 1988. While he ultimately lost, he impressively won 48% of the votes, and immediately rose to a national star. Now, he wants to use the momentum he’s earned from the senate race and run for the White House.

“This is a defining moment of truth for this country and for every single one of us,” the 47-years-old liberal icon said during his announcement. “The challenges that we face right now, the interconnected crises in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been greater. They will either consume us, or they will afford us the greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the United States of America.”

Earlier this month, an opinion poll co-conducted by CNN, Des Moines Register, and Mediacom found that O’Rourke was the fifth favorite candidate among Iowa Democrats, who will be the first ones to caucus come the primary season. O’Rourke polled at 5%, trailing far behind frontrunners former VP Joe Biden, at 27%, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, at 25%.

“This is going to be a positive campaign that seeks to bring out the very best from every single one of us, that seeks to unite a very divided country. We saw the power of that in Texas,” the Texan said.