The three Boston-area founders of the grassroots "Draft Beto" campaign have finally gotten their wish.

Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke officially announced his bid for the presidency in a video released early Tuesday, saying that we are in "a defining moment of truth for this country" and that "the interconnected crisis in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been greater."

Will Herberich, who works on communications and issue campaigns for a local nonprofit, co-created the "Draft Beto" campaign in November with Lauren Pardi and Adam Webster, who also work in politics. "Draft Beto" is not a part of O'Rourke's official campaign. But the three co-chairs say they were inspired by O'Rourke's near upset of Sen. Ted Cruz in the November midterm elections and decided on their own to organize volunteers across the country to support his candidacy.

"We have spent the last few months starting to lay the groundwork by organizing grassroots volunteers all over the country," Herberich told WGBH News. "And we're so excited that he's officially jumping into the race today. I know that volunteers all over the country are ready to get to work."

Read more: The Boston Trio Trying to 'Draft Beto' For 2020

Herberich said that O'Rourke's call for unity in a time of political division spoke to him, and that he believes the Texas Democrat's message is that "no place [should be] forgotten and no person's opinion [shouldn't be] valued."

“The way Beto visited all 254 counties in Texas, even in places where he wasn't likely to win any votes, he did that because he wanted to spread a message that he was going to listen and represent everyone,” Herberich said.

“There's a lot more that unites us than divides us,” Herberich said. “And so that, to me, is why Beto really stands out.”

According to Herberich, the grassroots campaign boasts an email list of 30,000 people and a social media following of about 25,000.

"We're very excited to see how many people have signed on," Herberich said. "And we're excited to now share those contacts with the campaign, and we hope that they're helpful."