This National Review article on Elizabeth Warren accused Beto O'Rourke of "ethnic play acting" and compares him and Warren to Rachel Dolezal (I'm surprised the author didn't bring up Krysten Sinema). I don't really want to get into the Warren thing, but this accusation against O'Rourke is one I've seen repeatedly from right-wing commentators.
Now, O'Rourke has never claimed to be Hispanic, as far as I can tell these complaints stem from the nickname "Beto." That nickname stems from the way he grew up in El Paso—it is a nickname his Hispanic classmates gave him. I don't believe that cultural appropriate is or should be a thing, but apparently some Republicans have a definition that would make most SJWs blush, at least when applied to Democrats.
But it also raises an interesting point. Culturally, O'Rourke is more Hispanic than Ted Cruz. O'Rourke spent pretty much his entire life in El Paso, immersed in Tejano culture, Ted Cruz spent his entire life in English-speaking areas and has tried to downplay his Cuban ancestry. And unlike being black or Indian (but like being Cherokee), being Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race. Ethnicity is often more about culture and geography than about blood, especially in the Americas.
In fact, if O'Rourke had been born on the opposite side of the border to those same parents, he would be Mexican-American and therefore Hispanic, just as with a great many people in Latin America with no roots in the Iberian Peninsula. Now, for O'Rourke to claim to actually be Hispanic would be unorthodox, in questionable taste, and a political landmine. But given his childhood immersion in Tejano culture, I feel that would have a not implausible case were he foolish enough to make it.
I certainly think it is ridiculous to say that by using his childhood nickname he is falsely presenting himself as Hispanic. But what do y'all think?