AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke announced today that hell seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, pledging to win over voters from both major parties as he tries to translate his political celebrity into a formidable White House bid.
Until he challenged Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year, ORourke was little known outside his hometown of El Paso. But the Spanish-speaking 46-year-old former punk rocker became a sensation during a campaign that used grassroots organizing and social media savvy to mobilize young voters and minorities. He got within 3 percentage points of upsetting Cruz in the nations largest red state and shattered fundraising records in the process immediately fueling chatter that he could have higher ambitions.
Weeks of teasing an announcement are behind him, but ORourke now must prove whether the energy he brought to the Texas campaign will resonate on a much larger stage. For all the buzz associated with his candidacy, the former three-term congressman hasnt demonstrated much skill in domestic or foreign policy. And, as a white man, hes entering a field that has been celebrated for its diverse roster of women and people of color.
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, ORourke said in a video announcement with his wife on a couch. We saw the power of this in Texas.
ORourke had never before visited Iowa, which kicks off presidential voting, but said during his first stop at a coffeeshop there today, I could care less about your party persuasion, your religion, anything other than the fact that, right now, we are all Americans.
His comments were carried live on several cable networks, the kind of exposure other candidates in the already crowded 2020 Democratic field dont often get.
ORourke has promised to travel the country listening to voters, then will return to El Paso, on the border with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 30 for an official campaign kickoff. He invites would-be supporters to the greatest grassroots campaign this country has ever seen.
ORourke joins a large and unsettled 2020 field in which his fundraising prowess, bipartisan optimism, southwestern Texas charm and anti-establishment attitude could quickly make him a political force. His lack of governing experience could hurt, but President Donald Trumps rise suggests that the U.S. electorate might welcome a charismatic outsider.
The sports and entertainment world already had its eye on ORourke during the Senate campaign: NBA star LeBron James wore an ORourke hat after video of the Texan defending NFL players right to protest during the national anthem went viral. Beyonce, a Houston native, endorsed ORourke.
And he was the only presidential prospect interviewed in February by Oprah Winfrey, who appeared genuinely excited about the prospect of an ORourke White House run.
Should he parlay a 2018 Senate defeat into a successful 2020 White House campaign, ORourke would be the first U.S. politician to do so since Abraham Lincoln lost his Senate bid to Stephen Douglas in Illinois in 1858, then was elected president two years later.
Democrats have long dreamed that a booming Hispanic population and droves of Americans moving to Texas from elsewhere could turn the nations largest red state blue and transform the Electoral College by making the Republican path to the presidency all but impossible. It remains to be seen, though, whether ORourkes home-state appeal could truly make Texas competitive. Another Texas Democrat, former Obama administration housing chief Julian Castro, was already running.
Trump has repeatedly blasted the idea of an ORourke presidential try, calling him a flake and a total lightweight and joking, I thought you were supposed to win before you run for president.
ORourke visited all 254 of Texas counties while running for Senate and often drew larger-than-expected crowds, including in conservative areas that Democrats gave up on decades ago. Its a strategy that could serve him well in Iowa, where Cruz campaigned in all 99 counties before winning its caucus during the 2016 GOP presidential primary.
ORourke has three full days of political events planned there.
