Presidential hopeful and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke recently told MSNBC, “I will not in any scenario run for the United States Senate.”
He really should, though.
Back in 2018, O’Rourke organized an extremely respectable Senate run against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and the Democratic candidate came the closest to defeating a Republican Senator since 1978. Texans couldn’t help but pay attention to O’Rourke whose campaign consisted of visiting all 254 counties in Texas.
Despite his loss, he made waves in U.S. politics, and ended up winning Tarrant, Dallas, Harris, Travis and El Paso counties just to name a few.
After this success, it would make sense that he would also make a name for himself on the national, presidential stage.
He announced his anticipated campaign in March, and despite gaining some national attention, it wasn’t exactly the attention he needed in order to change voters’ minds. O’Rourke fizzled out of the media spotlight early, and failed to make a name for himself on the crowded debate stage.
Candidates like Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, and rising stars Pete Buttigieg and Corey Booker all outshadowed O’Rourke.
His safe, dry answers felt very different from his fiery, youthful Senate run, and his awkward attempts at speaking Spanish was laughed at more than it was applauded.
O’Rourke is clearly passionate, it’s just the passion lies in the heart of Texas. Nothing made this more apparent than the tragic and needless massacre in his hometown of El Paso on Aug. 3.
His well-spoken and calm approach to his presidential campaign took a turn, and O’Rourke was showing visible anger towards reporters’ broad questions regarding President Donald Trump.
When asked what Trump could have done better, in regards to avoiding the El Paso shooting, O’Rourke responded by criticizing Trump’s hateful language and the press’ unwillingness to acknowledge it.
“He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I mean, members of the press, what the f***,” he said.
He also took his most firm stance on the gun control debate since his senate run. This was the O’Rourke that needed to show up on day-one of the debates, and the one that Texas desperately needs in the Senate going into 2020.
He has been overshadowed by the major players in the race, and his youthful, cool shtick was taken by Buttegieg. His presidential ambitions are all but lost. But if he were to join the Texas Senate race for 2020, he would immediately rise to the top of the polls, and in turn would have a decent shot at taking Sen. John Cornyn’s spot.
The Senate seat that is up for grabs should not be overlooked, and there is no candidate better equipped to flip it than O’Rourke.
With Democratic presidential candidates Eric Swalwell, John Hickenlooper, and Kirsten Gillibrand dropping out of the race, the crowded pool is thinning, and O’Rourke has done more than all of these candidates to establish national attention.
There is no state that appreciates fire and passion in a politician more than Texas, especially young democratic voters. If O’Rourke wants to make his mark on America, he needs to start at home.
