Campaign 2020 August 10, 2019

Beto O’Rourke Earning High Marks For Leaving The Campaign Trail To Focus On Hometown

EL PASO, TEXAS - AUGUST 07: Democratic presidential candidate and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) (C-R) hugs a woman at a makeshift memorial outside Walmart honoring victims of a mass shooting there which left 22 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. President Donald Trump visited the city earlier today. A 21-year-old white male suspect remains in custody in El Paso which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Beto O’Rourke paused his presidential campaign early this week after the massacre in El Paso. In the last week, he’s made it his mission to speak on behalf of the people of his hometown. O’Rourke has been bringing comfort to to those in his former congressional district, standing up to the president and advocating against hate. A fellow Democratic candidate even acknowledged this in a speech Friday.

Cory Booker is forcing a change of pace at the Iowa Wing Ding cattle call tonight, starting his 5-minute speech by noting that Beto O'Rourke, still in TX, didn't miss this event because of some obligation. "He missed this because Americans were slaughtered" in his hometown.
— Ruby Cramer (@rubycramer) August 10, 2019

Slate writes:

It’s been impressive to watch O’Rourke defend his city and target the president with an authentic directness about Trump’s incitement of white nationalist acts of violence.

This has led a lot of people to ask him to switch his future plans and focus his full attention on the Lone Star state.

everyone should be speaking in terms this plain but it’s also morally irresponsible for beto not to drop out right nowand run for senate https://t.co/e6S3Isq1s9
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) August 5, 2019

Many Democrats argue winning the Senate is just as important as winning the presidency in 2020. And O’Rourke is young enough that he still has many opportunities to run for the White House.

In the past few days we’ve seen @BetoORourke at his best; passionate, decent, and incredibly compelling. America needs him – IN THE SENATE. Beto, you can win in Texas. Your time to be President may yet come, your time to be the next Senator from Texas is now. Now more than ever.
— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) August 6, 2019

In a new poll conducted for The Dallas Morning News, the newspaper reports:

Forty-six percent of voters said O’Rourke should drop out of the presidential race and run for Senate, while 25% said he should keep running for president and 29% weren’t sure. About 51% of Democrats said O’Rourke should run for Senate instead of the White House.

And those polls were taken August 1-3rd, before the awful events in El Paso. It’s a safe bet to say that the numbers would only be more in O’Rourke’s favor now.

Beto O'Rourke is nuts if he doesn't announce tomorrow that he's going back to Texas to take on Cornyn.

He'd have the whole country behind him.
— Max Burns (@themaxburns) August 5, 2019

But right now, it seems like the 46-year-old says he’s staying in the presidential race. ABC reports:

Amid a raw and emotional week, O’Rourke dismissed questions about a potential Senate bid, telling reporters in El Paso Wednesday, “No part of me right now is thinking about politics, is thinking about any campaign or election. All of me is with and thinking about this community. And so I’m going to be here to be with my hometown, and to do anything I can to be helpful.”

Beto O’Rourke shuts the door to some Texas Democrats’ hopes he’ll change his mind and run for Senate, telling @maddow he’ll return to the campaign trail and seek the Democratic presidential nomination. He didn’t set a date for when he’ll leave his grieving hometown.
— Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) August 8, 2019

If he changes his mind, he has until the filing deadline in December.

This post contains analysis and opinion