fbpx
Wikipedia

Beto O'Rourke

October 21, 2023

Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke (/ˈbɛtoʊ/ BEH-toh, also /ˈbɛdoʊ/ BED-oh; Spanish pronunciation: ['beto]; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Rourke was the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2018,[1] a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2020,[2] and the party's nominee for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election.[3]

Beto O'Rourke
O'Rourke in 2019
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 16th district
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019
Preceded bySilvestre Reyes
Succeeded byVeronica Escobar
Mayor pro tempore of El Paso
In office
June 14, 2005 – June 20, 2006
MayorJohn Cook
Preceded byAnthony Cobos
Succeeded byPresi Ortega
Member of the El Paso City Council
from the 8th district
In office
June 1, 2005 – June 27, 2011
Preceded byAnthony Cobos
Succeeded byCortney Niland
Personal details
Born
Robert Francis O'Rourke

(1972-09-26) September 26, 1972 (age 51)
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Amy Sanders
​
(m. 2005)​
Children3
Parent(s)Pat O'Rourke
Melissa Williams
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Signature

O'Rourke was born into a local political family in El Paso, Texas, and is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and Columbia University.[4] While studying at Columbia, he began a brief music career as bass guitarist in the post-hardcore band Foss. After his college graduation, he returned to El Paso and began a business career. In 2005, he was elected to the El Paso City Council, serving until 2011; he served as mayor pro tempore during his first year in office. O'Rourke was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 after defeating eight-term incumbent Democrat Silvestre Reyes in the primary.

After being re-elected to the House in 2014 and 2016, O'Rourke declined to seek another term in 2018. Instead, he sought the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz, running a competitive campaign that drew national attention. Despite losing the election to Cruz by a margin of 2.6%, O'Rourke set a record for most votes ever cast for a Democrat in a midterm election in Texas.

On March 14, 2019, O'Rourke announced his candidacy in the 2020 United States presidential election. He suspended his campaign on November 1, 2019, due to a lack of traction and financial issues. He later endorsed Joe Biden on the same day as Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg.[5]

On March 1, 2022, O'Rourke won the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial election.[6][7][8] He was defeated by Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in the general election.[9]

Early life

Childhood and young adult years

Robert Francis O'Rourke was born on September 26, 1972, at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso, Texas, to Pat Francis O'Rourke and Melissa Martha O'Rourke, (née Williams).[10][11] He is a fourth-generation Irish American.[16] In his infancy, his family gave him the nickname "Beto" initially to distinguish him from his namesake grandfather.[17][18] Pat O'Rourke served in public office in El Paso as County Commissioner and County Judge;[a][4] he was an associate of Texas Governor Mark White,[19] served as the state chairman of Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns,[20] switched parties in the early 1990s, and made several failed attempts to win election to public office as a Republican.[21] Jesse Jackson conducted a press conference on December 11, 1984, in the den of O'Rourke's boyhood home in Kern Place.[22][23]

In eighth grade, O'Rourke was introduced to punk rock through the Clash's London Calling (1979), an album he later called "a revelation".[24] By the time he was 14 or 15 years old, he started going to local punk shows. He soon discovered Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent label with a catalog of punk music, and began reading punk zines like Maximumrocknroll and Flipside.[25] O'Rourke felt alienated from the City of El Paso as an adolescent in the 1980s. He told The Texas Observer that, in the El Paso of his youth, "There was nothing dangerous. There was no energy. There was no risk."[26] El Paso's punk scene, though small, helped O'Rourke find a sense of community in the city.[26]

As a teenager, O'Rourke was a member of the computer hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow, named after a shut-down Lubbock slaughterhouse.[27] The group "is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft's Windows". At O'Rourke's insistence, the group included female members, making it one of the few groups of that era to do so.[27][28] O'Rourke has admitted that he stole long-distance phone service during his teen years in order to use his dial-up modem. O'Rourke wrote numerous poems and other texts for Cult of the Dead Cow under the pseudonym "Psychedelic Warlord", a name taken from a 1974 rock song by the band Hawkwind.[29][30][31] O'Rourke has expressed regret over some fictional short stories he wrote as a teenager for the cDc private online forum which included sexual and violent themes.[27][28]

Education

O'Rourke began his education at Escuela Montessori Del Valle preschool and continued to Rivera and Mesita Elementary Schools.[23][32] In 1988, after two years at El Paso High School,[33] he enrolled in Woodberry Forest School, an all-male boarding school in Madison County, Virginia.[34] O'Rourke attended Columbia University, where in his junior year he co-captained Columbia's heavyweight rowing crew.[35] He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature.[35][36][37] He is fluently bilingual in English and Spanish.[38]

Career

Music

Main article: Foss (band)

For me, it was a great opportunity to see the country. You literally were playing for gas money, in a bar, in a club, or in somebody's basement, and that would take you to the next town and the next show.

– O'Rourke on his experience in the band Foss[39]

O'Rourke had a brief career in music during his college years.[40] He joined his first band, called Swipe, after he left El Paso to attend Columbia University in New York. Swipe played shows at bars and clubs in New York and once opened for the Olympia, Washington-based punk band Fitz of Depression.[41]

After being introduced to Bad Brains as a teen,[42] O'Rourke became a fan of punk music. O'Rourke and two friends from El Paso, Mike Stevens and Arlo Klahr, learned to play musical instruments; O'Rourke took up the bass.[43] In 1991, while at Columbia University, the trio recruited drummer Cedric Bixler-Zavala (eventual vocalist for At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta), and together they formed the band Foss.[44][45] During the summer, they toured the United States and Canada,[43] garnering the support of Feist.[46] The group released a self-titled demo and a 7-inch record, "The El Paso Pussycats", on Western Breed Records in 1993.[44][46]

O'Rourke also played drums in the band Swedes, who released an album called Summer in 1995.[47][48] O'Rourke and ex-members of Foss later started two other bands, a rock group called Fragile Gang and a cover band called The Sheeps.[49]

The DIY ethos O'Rourke had first encountered in the punk scene informed some of his later political decisions, such as his Senate campaign's pledge not to accept financial contributions from PACs (political action committees).[50]

Business

After graduation, O'Rourke worked as a live-in caretaker and art mover before working for an Internet service provider run by his uncle.[43][51] He later took a position at H. W. Wilson Company as a proofreader, and wrote short stories and songs in his free time.[35][43]

O'Rourke returned to El Paso in 1998.[52] At first, he was working with computers as an inventory tracker at his mother's upscale furniture store and living in an apartment building owned by his father.[21] O'Rourke said he wanted to address "brain-drain", or the exodus of youth caused by lack of opportunity.[43][53] In 2000, he co-founded Stanton Street Technology Group, an Internet services and software company.[51][failed verification] With O'Rourke himself unable to obtain a loan, his father took out a $20,000 loan on his behalf.[citation needed] O'Rourke's wife, Amy, operated the business until June 2017.[54][55] For a few years, the company also published an online newspaper, also called Stanton Street; the paper was a mix of arts and entertainment reviews, restaurant reviews and opinion columns that O'Rourke modeled on alternative periodicals like The Village Voice and New York Press.[43] The company made a co-marketing agreement with local TV station, KTSM-TV, allowing StantonStreet.Com and the station's Internet site to share content and TV ads.[56] KTSM's then news director, Eric Pearson, was O'Rourke's brother-in-law.[57]

O'Rourke was involved with El Paso civic organizations and nonprofit groups, such as the Rotary Club, United Way, and Center Against Sexual and Family Violence. He was a member of the boards of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for Policy and Economic Development at UTEP.[58]

Politics

During his childhood, O'Rourke accompanied his father Pat at campaign stops and other political events. While Pat was charismatic and outgoing, his son was more reserved. Pat would nudge Beto, suggesting he introduce himself to someone. O'Rourke recalled, "I was an awkward and shy kid, so it was the last thing I wanted to do, but now I can look back and bless my experience in it."[59] "Interestingly, his father was involved politically in El Paso growing up, and Beto would go to events...but I never saw Beto engaged with that arena," his mother recalled.[60] O'Rourke cites his work on his magazine, not boyhood exposure to politics, as the reason behind his initial political ideas and ambitions.[53]

O'Rourke was inspired by the successful 2001 mayoral run of Ray Caballero, whose platform promoted the idea that El Paso was great. When Caballero failed to get re-elected, O'Rourke considered running for office.[43]

El Paso City Council (2005–2012)

See also: Electoral history of Beto O'Rourke

In mid-2005, O'Rourke ran for the El Paso City Council on a platform of downtown development and border reform.[61]

O'Rourke defeated two-term incumbent City Councilman Anthony Cobos, 57–43%.[62][63] Byrd and Ortega were also elected; along with O'Rourke, they came to be referred to as "The Progressives."[43] O'Rourke is one of the youngest representatives ever to have served on the City Council.[64] In 2007, he won re-election to a second term, defeating Trini Acevedo, 70–30%.[65][66]

On June 14, 2005, at his first city council meeting, O'Rourke was chosen as mayor pro tem by unanimous vote.[67] The mayor pro tem represents the city at meetings and ceremonial occasions when the mayor is unavailable, presides over City Council in the mayor's absence, appoints council members to legislative review committees and generally works in concert with the mayor in a leadership capacity. On June 20, 2006, he relinquished the position, saying, "I said I would take it on condition that someone else would it in a year. ... I hope it becomes a new tradition that every year, a new mayor pro tem is elected."[68]

O'Rourke was a supporter of a redevelopment plan for a depressed area of El Paso's business district with a high vacancy rate, which was also supported by Mayor John Cook and fellow City Councilwoman Susie Byrd.[69] The initiative faced opposition from a small group of small businesses and Chicano activists who expressed concern about gentrification and the potential use of eminent domain. O'Rourke responded with an on-foot campaign to residents of the neighborhood and was met with support as well as some cynicism.[43] An activist initiated a recall campaign against O'Rourke (which O'Rourke won), and a few downtown property owners filed two ethics complaints against him; the complaints were dismissed as unfounded.[43] Ultimately, owing to the start of the Great Recession in the United States, the redevelopment plans were only partially realized.[43][70][71]

In January 2009, O'Rourke sponsored a resolution calling for "comprehensive examination" of the War on Drugs and "the repeal of ineffective marijuana laws". The resolution, unanimously supported by his colleagues on the El Paso City Council, was vetoed by Mayor John Cook.[72][73] O'Rourke told reporters the reason he spoke up about the War on Drugs was the thousands of people who had been killed in the nearby city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.[74][75] He said, "I hope it has all had its intended effect of starting the national discussion of the wisdom of the War on Drugs...and probably more importantly, helping to bring about a better solution than the status quo, which has led to the terror and tragedy in Juarez."[76]

U.S. House of Representatives (2013-2019)

Elections

2012

Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 16

In 2012, O'Rourke filed for the Democratic primary against the eight-term Silvestre Reyes to represent Texas's 16th congressional district. The primary was seen as the real contest in the heavily Democratic, Latino-majority district.[38] Byrd ran O'Rourke's field operation and Escobar was head of communication.[43] O'Rourke won 50.5 percent of the vote, just a few hundred votes above the threshold required to avoid a runoff against Reyes.[77] He was contrasted with Reyes in his support for LGBT rights and drug liberalization.[78][79] His campaign was largely on foot, and he reportedly knocked on 16,000 doors.[43] He defeated his Republican opponent, Barbara Carrasco, in the general election with 65 percent of the vote.[80] Upon O'Rourke's election, the district was no longer represented in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, a 26-member group established in 1976, because he lacks Hispanic heritage.[81] As the district was 80 percent Hispanic, with 77.6 percent of Hispanics being of voting-age, some officials, including David Austin, the El Paso-based border representative for the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition, argued that he should be permitted to join. For his part, O'Rourke said he respected the caucus's bylaws.[81]

As a Congressman, he held at least one town hall meeting every month.[43] In March 2013, O'Rourke and Republican Steve Pearce of New Mexico introduced the Border Enforcement Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act, legislation proposed to establish an ombudsman within the Department of Homeland Security that would investigate allegations of violence and civil-rights violations by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, create a commission that would overview the agency's policies and provide insight on how to spend its $18 billion annual budget, increase the training required for officers and agents, and establish protocols under which the CBP would be required to report deaths at the border or agents' use of force.[82] He co-sponsored the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, which was enacted in 2014. Notably, Section 506 allowed the CBP to enter into public-private partnerships with local entities to help fund overtime pay to customs officers at ports of entry, which helped fund the personnel to lower wait times at the border. El Paso was one of five cities chosen to participate in the program.[83]

2014

Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 16

During his bid for re-election in the fall of 2014, O'Rourke donated at least $28,000 from his own campaign funds to fellow Democratic candidates for House seats.[84] O'Rourke was re-elected in 2014 with 67 percent of the vote.

In November 2014, O'Rourke opposed Obama's deferred action policy that used an executive action to bypass Congress in order to spare approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, saying "the motive is noble, but the means are really hard to stomach."[85]

O'Rourke was one of six members of Congress who took a six-day trip to Israel that included meetings with Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators, political leaders and residents.[86] O'Rourke's previous decisions to vote against U.S. funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system and not attend Israel's prime minister's address to Congress had been controversial; the bill was easily passed in the House, with a 395–8 vote.[86] While saying he was not against funding the project, he was reluctant to support sending $225 million to Israel without any debate or discussion, and said that the US's policy of "unequivocal support at times has been damaging to Israel."[86]

2016

Main article: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 16

In June 2016,[87] O'Rourke endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, being one of the last Democratic congressmen to support her during the primary.[88] As a sitting member of Congress, O'Rourke was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention.[87] In October 2015, O'Rourke announced his bid for a third term in 2016.[89] He won the Democratic primary and defeated his Green and Libertarian opponents in the general election.[90] When Nancy Pelosi faced a leadership challenge from Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, O'Rourke backed Ryan.[91] O'Rourke said that he believed in term limits, and therefore that it was time for new leadership.[91] He had given himself a term limit in the House, and promised not to serve any more than 12 years in the Senate if elected.[88]

In 2017, the congressman, along with Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Eric Swalwell of California, sponsored the American Families United Act, which promoted the idea that US citizens have the right to sponsor their spouses for legal immigration.[92]

O'Rourke gave up his congressional seat to run for Senate in 2018.[93]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

2018 U.S. Senate campaign

Main article: 2018 United States Senate election in Texas
 
Final results by county in 2018:
  Ted Cruz
  •   >90%
  •   80–90%
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
  Beto O'Rourke
  •   70–80%
  •   60–70%
  •   50–60%
  •   40–50%

As O'Rourke was considering entering the 2018 U.S. Senate race in Texas, political experts considered him a "longshot" candidate.[96] Ben Terris of The Washington Post said he was suffering from a "bug" causing "mass delusions that the old rules of politics no longer apply." He asked, "Can a Democrat really win in this deeply red state—against Cruz, who will be running one of the best-financed campaigns in the country? And can he do so on a positive message about Mexicans in an era when calling them rapists helped make a man president?"[61]

No Democrat had been elected to statewide office in Texas since 1994.[43] On March 31, 2017, O'Rourke formally announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Ted Cruz.[97] In March 2018, O'Rourke became the Democratic Party nominee, winning 61.8 percent of the primary vote.[98] O'Rourke campaigned in all of Texas's 254 counties.[99] He said he planned to run a positive campaign, not focused on Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.[100]

 
Beto O'Rourke during a rally in Austin, Texas, November 2018

O'Rourke's campaign received significant national attention for its ability to draw large crowds and extensive use of social media.[101][102] He ran his campaign without professional pollsters or consultants, and relied on volunteers with no experience running a political campaign.[100] His campaign employed the use of mass text messages.[103] According to the 2018 third-quarter report from the FEC, his campaign spent US$7.3 million on digital advertising alone (in contrast with Cruz's $251,000).[104] His first ad was filmed on an iPhone.[104]

O'Rourke often highlighted his days as a rock musician with Foss in interviews.[105] By March 2018, Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly remarked that O'Rourke "seemingly can't escape a single profile without the words 'punk rock Democrat' appearing in the headline".[106] Political observers and journalists felt that O'Rourke's punk past became an important element of his image and political outlook.[107][108][109] In an op-ed for The New York Times, Mimi Swartz expressed her belief that O'Rourke's former membership in a punk band had likely boosted his appeal with millennials.[110]

O'Rourke posted to social media daily, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and livestreamed his activities traveling the state, such as skateboarding in a Whataburger parking lot, washing clothes at a laundromat, and "blockwalking" in his constituents' neighborhoods.[102] He encouraged supporters to post selfies they had taken with him to social media.[102] Some of his videos went viral, including his position on NFL players "taking a knee" and police brutality against unarmed black men.[111][112] Supporters said O'Rourke's "promise of compassion", more than any specific policy position, drew their support.[113]

Funding

O'Rourke pledged not to accept PAC contributions for his Senate campaign. He raised $2 million within the first three months, mostly from small donations.[114][115] During the campaign, PolitiFact rated his claim of not taking PAC money as "true".[116] He received his first major organizational endorsement from End Citizens United in June 2017,[117] which found that he had raised triple the funds of Cruz without accepting corporate special interest money.[118] In the second quarter of 2018, he raised $10.4 million to Cruz's $4.6 million, with each candidate having raised $23 million by September 1.[113] O'Rourke raised more than $38 million in the third quarter, three times Cruz's totals for the same period.[101] It is the most raised in a U.S. Senate race in history.[101] According to his campaign, the donations came from 802,836 individual contributions, mostly from Texas.[101] When asked if he would share the funds with Democrats in other races, he declined, saying that he wanted to honor "the commitment that those who've contributed to this campaign have made to me."[119] O'Rourke raised $80 million for the campaign, which was the highest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate.[120]

Debates

 
O'Rourke's senatorial campaign in Austin, Texas, November 2018

The first of three scheduled debates between O'Rourke and Ted Cruz took place on September 21, 2018. The candidates disagreed on gun rights, immigration, marijuana, the "take a knee" controversy, and the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. At the end of the debate, the moderator asked the candidates to "say something nice about each other". O'Rourke praised Cruz's parenting. Cruz compared O'Rourke to Bernie Sanders, saying he "admired [his] willingness to stand up for socialist beliefs and high taxes." O'Rourke replied, "True to form."[121][122] Analysts described Cruz as more experienced and aggressive, but said O'Rourke won over the crowd.[123][124]

Cruz declined to participate in the third, town hall-style debate for CNN held on October 18, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. O'Rourke agreed to attend the town hall meeting alone.[125] During the meeting, O'Rourke said he did not see himself running for President because he has young children. He said he regretted calling Ted Cruz "Lyin' Ted", a nickname given to Cruz by Donald Trump. He confirmed that he would vote to impeach and indict Trump. He defended his Spanish nickname against accusations of cultural appropriation.[126][127]

Endorsements

 
O'Rourke senatorial campaign logo

O'Rourke's Senate bid was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle,[128] the Dallas Morning News,[129] and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.[130] Singer and activist Willie Nelson endorsed O'Rourke and held a rally for him on September 29 in Austin, Texas; Nelson said, "Beto embodies what is special about Texas, an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine."[131] At the end of the rally, Nelson debuted his new election-inspired song "Vote 'Em Out".[132] Other celebrity endorsements included Beyoncé,[133] Khalid, Aaron Jones, Eva Longoria, LeBron James, Jim Carrey, Travis Scott, Ellen DeGeneres, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Kelly Rowland.[134]

Polls and news coverage

On September 18, 2018, a Quinnipiac poll based on phone interviews put Cruz nine points ahead of O'Rourke among likely voters, but a September 19 Ipsos online poll done in conjunction with Reuters and the University of Virginia showed O'Rourke leading Cruz by two points.[135] Going into the third debate on October 18, 2018, a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS, showed Cruz leading the campaign 52 percent to 45 percent among likely voters.[126]

The media made comparisons between O'Rourke's Senate campaign and Obama's 2008 campaign for President, drawing parallels between their charismatic speaking styles, optimistic tones, and the nationwide attention their campaigns generated.[136][137][138] Peter Hamby of Vanity Fair compared the energy at O'Rourke's rallies to the energy at Obama's rallies in 2007.[138]

Results

On November 6, 2018, Cruz defeated O'Rourke,[139][140][141] 50.9%–48.3%.[142] Despite his loss, O'Rourke was credited for the election of several down-ticket candidates of the Democratic Party, which some called the "Beto Effect".[143] For example, Republicans lost control of the Texas Third and Fifth Courts of Appeals in the 2018 elections.[144] Of 150 state House seats, 12 formerly Republican seats were taken by Democrats, as well as two of the state's 31 state Senate seats.[145] O'Rourke received over four million votes, compared to Hillary Clinton, who received only 3.9 million votes in the 2016 presidential election in Texas, and David Alameel, the Democratic nominee in the 2014 Texas Senate race, who received only 1.6 million votes.[145] O'Rourke set a record for most votes ever cast for a Democrat in Texas history.[146]

2020 presidential campaign

 
O'Rourke presidential campaign logo
 
O'Rourke at a presidential campaign event in April 2019
Main article: Beto O'Rourke 2020 presidential campaign

In late 2018, speculation began that O'Rourke might run in the United States presidential election in 2020.[147] Prior to the midterm elections, The New Republic said O'Rourke's Senate campaign was the beginning of a bid for the presidency, despite calling it "journalistic hedging", or a justification for the media extensively covering a candidate who was expected to lose his race.[137][148]

Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said he has "name recognition, a widely successful fundraising operation, a young fresh face with a sprinkling of woke, a cool persona, a new perspective, he speaks Spanish and would be an exciting and upbeat candidate."[149] The possibility of an O'Rourke candidacy made some Democratic party donors hesitant to commit to other candidates.[150]

On March 13, El Paso TV station KTSM-TV reported that O'Rourke had decided to run for President in 2020.[151] O'Rourke confirmed speculation the following day by announcing that he was entering the presidential race.[152][153] According to Politico, during his presidential race, O'Rourke presented his 2018 loss to Cruz as a prominent selling point.[154]

O'Rourke announced the end of his campaign for president on November 1, 2019.[155][156] He endorsed Joe Biden at a rally in Dallas, Texas on March 2, 2020, one day before Super Tuesday.[157]

2019–2021 activities

 
Logo for "Powered by People", the political action committee O'Rourke launched in December 2019

In December 2019, O'Rourke founded the political action committee "Powered by People". The group is a hybrid PAC, which works like a super PAC and a traditional PAC.[158]

After his 2020 presidential campaign ended, O'Rourke campaigned for Texas House of Representatives candidates such as Eliz Markowitz, Sima Ladjevardian, and Lorraine Birabil.[159][160]

During the multiple crises that Texas faced as a result of the February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm, O'Rourke organized virtual phone banks to perform wellness calls and offer assistance to senior citizens. He claimed that the volunteers he had organized had made 784,000 phone calls in a single day on February 18, 2021.[161][162]

2022 Texas gubernatorial election

See also: 2022 Texas gubernatorial election
 
O'Rourke campaigning in Wichita Falls, Texas

O'Rourke announced his bid for Governor of Texas in the 2022 gubernatorial election on November 15, 2021. He is challenging incumbent Republican Greg Abbott. During his announcement video, O'Rourke called the 2021 Texas power crisis a "symptom of a much larger problem".[163] On March 1, 2022, O'Rourke won the Democratic nomination for governor. The Associated Press reported that O'Rourke "had no serious primary competition".[8]

Given Texas's Republican lean, polls showed O'Rourke as the underdog in the race against Abbott.[164] In the general election, O'Rourke was defeated by Abbott, earning 43.8% of the vote to the latter's 54.9%.[165]

Political positions

 
O'Rourke rally at Los Angeles Trade–Technical College

Political analysts classify O'Rourke as a progressive, liberal, neoliberal, or centrist.[166][167][168][169][170] During his time in Congress, O'Rourke was a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a Third Way, pro-business caucus.[171][172][94] The National Journal rates him 93% liberal and 7% conservative.[173] Describing himself, O'Rourke has said that he does not know where he falls on the political spectrum. He has sponsored bipartisan bills as well as broken with his party on issues like trade.[174]

GovTrack placed O'Rourke near the ideological center of the Democratic Party; American for Democratic action gave him a liberal rating of 90 percent, while the American Conservative Union gave him an 8% conservative rating.[175] According to FiveThirtyEight, which tracks congressional voting records, O'Rourke voted in line with Donald Trump 30.1 percent of the time during the 115th Congress.[176]

Bipartisanship

Allegheny College bestowed the 2018 Prize for Civility in Public Life to O'Rourke together with Will Hurd, a Texas Republican.[177] In March 2017, facing snowstorm-induced flight cancellations, O'Rourke and Hurd, both stuck in San Antonio, needed to get back to Washington for a House vote. They rented a car and embarked on a 1,600 mi (2,600 km) drive that they captured on Facebook Live.[178][179][180] O'Rourke and Hurd have worked collaboratively on legislation since the road trip.[181]

Business

O'Rourke supports stronger antitrust laws to break up monopolies which he believes "stifle competition and innovation." He promotes industry and business regulations meant to promote competition, help the economy to grow, and protect consumers. He believes, "We must connect those out of work with the high value jobs being created right here in Texas by investing in the training, certification and apprenticeship programs that make it possible."[182] He has received high scores from labor unions with lifetime and yearly position scores of 90–100 percent from the AFL–CIO and a 95 percent lifetime score from AFSCME.[183]

Crime

In an essay he wrote for Houston Chronicle, he repeated a common refrain of his campaign,[184] that "Harris County Jail is the largest provider of mental health services in our state," and quoted the statistic that "the jail has more people receiving psychiatric treatment every day than the nine state mental hospitals in Texas combined."[185] He proposed that politicians work to eliminate private, for-profit prisons, end the "war on drugs", stop using mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent drug offenses, end cash bail that disproportionately affects those unable to pay bail with longer jail sentences,[186] and provide reentry programs to reduce recidivism for non-violent criminals.[185]

Drugs

O'Rourke favors the legalization of cannabis.[187] In 2011, O'Rourke co-authored a book, Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico, which in part argues for an end to the prohibition of marijuana to reduce drug-related violence and undermine the finances of the Mexican drug cartels.[188][189] He has called for the arrest records of individuals sentenced for possession of small amounts of cannabis to be expunged.[186] During the 2018 Senate campaign, O'Rourke's opponent, Ted Cruz, claimed that O'Rourke sought to legalize heroin; in 2009 when O'Rourke was an El Paso city council member he called for "honest, open national debate on ending the prohibition on narcotics".[186]

Education

O'Rourke favors increasing federal aid to public schools in low-income communities. He believes that teachers and local education officials should have more autonomy in setting classroom standards while reducing the current emphasis on "arbitrary, high-stakes tests".[182] During his 2020 presidential election campaign, O'Rourke released a $500 billion education plan "committed to closing funding gaps [and] creating incentives for states and districts to guarantee fair funding for public schools and pay teachers professional wages."[190]

Additionally, during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign in Texas, O'Rourke supported increasing teacher's salaries and funding to public schools. He also opposed school vouchers, claiming that voucher systems lead to money flowing to private schools instead of public schools. Further, he advocated that public schools should receive funding based on student enrollment figures instead of attendance figures, arguing that the current attendance-based system deprives public schools of funding to educate the estimated 260,000 Texas public school students who do not attend school regularly. O'Rourke said he would focus less on cultural issues in education, like critical race theory and transgender children in sports- key issues for some conservative politicians- and focus more on educational outcomes such as "reading, graduation and college preparedness."[191]

Environment

While attending Woodberry Forest School, O'Rourke along with a circle of friends founded an environmental group called the Terra Interest Society.[34] Before he was elected to city council, he joined neighborhood and community efforts to stop the re-permitting of the local ASARCO copper smelter, and once he was on the city council, he made several efforts to ensure that the copper smelter did not re-open.[192][193]

O'Rourke supports efforts to combat global warming. He has advocated putting a price on carbon emissions and wants to substantially increase the use of renewable energy. He has been a vocal critic of the Trump Administration's elimination of greenhouse gas regulations and the shrinking of the budget for environmental projects.[194]

In 2012, O'Rourke stated that "in tackling climate change and the greatest environmental threat we have ever faced, we need to take unprecedented action in building a foundation for a clean energy economy". He added, "Educating our fellow Americans about this threat to our quality of life is important to our success, and I will do all I can to make this issue a top priority in Congress."[195]

O'Rourke has introduced legislation to establish a national monument at Castner Range, near El Paso, and successfully included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to protect the area, which includes a historic military training facility.[194]

O'Rourke's holds a lifetime voting record of 95 percent and a 2017 score of 100 percent with the League of Conservation Voters' national environmental ranking.[196][better source needed]

Foreign policy

 
O'Rourke at the Inter-American Dialogue conference in 2016

O'Rourke criticized Israel's actions during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict and voted against funding Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.[197][198] O'Rourke denounced the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem as "provocative". He supports a two-state solution and believes that the U.S. could best support a peaceful settlement by urging Israel to discontinue Israeli settlements in the West Bank and assist the Palestinian Authority to negotiate in good faith and recognize Israel's right to exist.[199] O'Rourke criticized Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following his comments about annexing the settlements in the occupied West Bank after the 2019 Israeli election, calling him a "racist".[200] In April 2019, he called the U.S.–Israel relationship "one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet."[201]

O'Rourke criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses and the intervention it leads in support of the government of Yemen against the Houthis.[202] In 2016, O'Rourke voted against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its government's alleged role in the attacks.[202] In October 2018, after President Trump indicated the U.S. would not sanction Saudi Arabia over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, O'Rourke stated: "Saudi Arabia must be held accountable. We must stop rewarding their bad behavior, whether it's what they've just done in the murder of a journalist or their export of those who are spreading a hateful ideology or their indiscriminately bombing civilians in Yemen."[202]

O'Rourke supported the Iran nuclear deal regarding Iran's development of weapons of mass destruction.[203] In August 2017, O'Rourke criticized Trump's hard-line stance towards North Korea, saying that "We must not allow this president to sleepwalk this country, or tweet this country, into war with North Korea."[204] In March 2019, O'Rourke called for ending the U.S.–led Iraq War and War in Afghanistan.[205] O'Rourke opposed the U.S. involvement in the Syrian Civil War and providing arms to the rebel fighters in Syria. He also criticized the NATO-led military intervention in Libya a "factor in the destabilization of the Middle East and the rise of ISIS."[206] O'Rourke supported legislation to curtail NSA's broad and unwarranted surveillance of U.S. and foreign citizens.[206]

In July 2018, O'Rourke said that Trump's performance while attending the 2018 Russia–United States summit in Helsinki warranted impeachment.[207] Addressing the Trump–Putin joint press conference of July 16, he said standing "on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States—if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president."[208] On March 23, 2019, O'Rourke accused President Trump of collusion with Russia to "undermine and influence" U.S. elections.[209]

In March 2019, O'Rourke said regarding the China–United States trade war that President Trump had a "legitimate" cause and "We want him to be successful in this, but as I was reminded by a fellow Iowan, when have we ever gone to war, including a trade war without allies?"[210]

In an interview with ABC, O'Rourke suggested that the United States address the migrant caravan by investing in stability in countries where the migrants originate, countries in the Northern Triangle of Central America.[211] O'Rourke said that U.S. involvement in Central America "has not been a very positive one over the last 60 years. You can go back to the coup [in Guatemala] that overthrew Jacobo Arbenz in 1954, fully backed by the Eisenhower administration and the Dulles brothers, who had an interest in the United Fruit company, whose fight with the government really precipitated the crisis that led to the coup."[212]

Guns

On the evening of June 22, 2016, O'Rourke participated in the sit-in in the House of Representatives that attempted to force a vote on gun control legislation. When the Republicans ordered C-SPAN to turn off its normal coverage of the chamber, O'Rourke and Representative Scott Peters transmitted images by cell phone to social media for C-SPAN to broadcast.[213]

On March 7, 2018, O'Rourke told Alisyn Camerota of CNN: "We have a great tradition and culture of gun ownership and gun safety for hunting, for sport, for self-defense... I think that can allow Texas to take the lead on a really tough issue, which the country is waiting for leadership and action on."[214]

He supports universal background checks for all firearm purchases.[215]

After the 2019 El Paso shooting, he called for a complete ban on the sale and possession of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines as well as suggesting a mandatory buy-back program (may be considered gun confiscation) to remove existing weapons and magazines.[216][217][218][219]

On September 2, 2019, O'Rourke tweeted: "I was asked how I'd address people's fears that we will take away their assault rifles. I want to be clear: That's exactly what we're going to do. Americans who own AR-15s and AK-47s will have to sell their assault weapons [to the government]. All of them."[220] During a live televised interview on October 16, 2019, MSNBC cable news-show host Joe Scarborough asked O'Rourke how he, as president, would respond to non-compliance from those gun owners who regard such a mandatory program as "an unjust law and unconstitutional." O'Rourke replied: "There have to be consequences, or else there is no respect for the law… In that case, I think there would be a visit by law enforcement to recover [sic] that firearm and to make sure that it is purchased."[221]

In a September 19, 2019, Democratic presidential debate, O'Rourke again called for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons; he said: "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."[222][223][224] O'Rourke acknowledged that his position had shifted from the stance he had taken on assault weapons during his 2018 U.S. Senate bid. Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware lamented on CNN that O'Rourke's stance could haunt Democrats, because "that clip will be played for years at Second Amendment rallies with organizations that try to scare people by saying, 'Democrats are coming for your guns'".[217]

On May 25, 2022, O'Rourke confronted Texas Governor Greg Abbott during a press conference about the Robb Elementary School shooting that had occurred the day before.[225] He said to the governor, "You are doing nothing. You are offering up nothing. You said this was not predictable. This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything." The confrontation received a mixed response from the crowd with some booing O'Rourke and others cheering him on.[226] Senator Ted Cruz told O'Rourke to "sit down" and Uvalde Mayor Don MacLaughlin shouted, "I can't believe you're a sick son of a bitch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue." O'Rourke left the room accompanied by security guards and continued his remarks outside the building, criticizing Governor Abbott for not funding mental health services and for opposing gun regulations.[227] The New York Times described the confrontation as a "political gamble" that received criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats.[228]

Immigration

O'Rourke favors comprehensive immigration reform.[229][230] As early as 2012, he asserted that his experience living on the border gave him "a strong understanding of immigration's impact on our community", calling El Paso "an Ellis Island to Latin America for more than 150 years", and spoke against 'militarizing' the border.[231] O'Rourke opposed Trump's decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which granted temporary stay to some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors.[232][233] O'Rourke said it is a "top priority" to protect DREAMers.[232] In October 2016, he gave a TEDx talk, titled The Border Makes America Great, about his views on immigration.[234]

He has criticized President Donald Trump's rhetoric on immigration, saying: "[Trump is] constantly stoking anxiety and fear about Mexicans, immigrants and the border with Mexico. Unfortunately this President takes another step into a dark world of fear, isolation and separation."[19][235] In June 2018, O'Rourke led protests in Tornillo, Texas, against the Trump administration family separation policy which involved the separation of children of immigrant families. The city is located just miles from the Rio Grande, the river that creates the border of the United States and Mexico in the state of Texas.[236] The Trump administration had created a "tent-city" in Tornillo, where separated children were being held without their parents. O'Rourke called this practice "Un-American" and the responsibility of all Americans.[237][238] O'Rourke stated that leading the march "was a religious experience... I happen to have been raised Catholic, and what I take away from my religion is you do your best to love everyone, to be good to everyone."[239] In April 2019, O'Rourke publicly compared rhetoric used by Trump to describe immigrants to language from Nazi Germany.[240]

Ted Cruz asserted in 2018 that O'Rourke wanted "open borders and wants to take our guns."[241] PolitiFact found that Cruz's claims were "false", noting that O'Rourke had "not called for opening the borders or for government agents to take guns from law-abiding residents".[241] Subsequently, in an interview in February 2019, O'Rourke indicated he would tear down the wall between El Paso and the southern US border, since he feels that the fencing has forced migrants to the most inhospitable areas of the southern border, "ensuring their suffering and death".[242] In a televised September 2019 presidential debate, O'Rourke expressed support for mandatory government gun-buyback programs.[243]

Religious liberty

In October 2019, during his presidential campaign, O'Rourke proposed to remove the tax-exempt status of religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.[244] At CNN's Equality Town Hall, O'Rourke asserted that "'there can be no reward, no benefit, no tax break for anyone or any institution, any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us'". O'Rourke's press secretary later clarified that he "'was referring to religious institutions who take discriminatory action'".[245] O'Rourke's comment "infuriated a swath of religious and conservative leaders".[246] Then presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, voiced disagreement and criticism of O'Rourke's stance.[247]

Social issues

O'Rourke voted against the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.[248] As a gubernatorial candidate, O'Rourke claims he would attempt to repeal Texas laws restricting abortion bans if he was elected governor.[249]

O'Rourke told the Dallas Voice that "he called marriage equality a core civil rights issue" during his House primary campaign. While on the El Paso City Council, O'Rourke led a successful fight to overturn the domestic partnership ban.[78] He was a co-sponsor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013 (H.R. 3135).[250]

Whilst previously having supported Medicare for All during the 2018 US Senate race, O'Rourke backtracked during the 2020 presidential primary, instead supporting a proposal he called "Medicare for America". This alternative would allow all citizens on an employment-based health insurance to keep that insurance if they wanted to, but it would move all uninsured, Medicaid-covered, and newborn citizens to Medicare immediately.[251][252] He supports stabilization of the insurance markets to improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He also supports the expansion of Medicaid and is a co-sponsor of the Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017.[253][254][255]

O'Rourke has spoken out against racial inequality. He supports the football players who have taken part in the "Take a knee" protests. Speaking in a video that went viral, O'Rourke said he believes there is "nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee, for your rights, anytime, anywhere or any place."[256] He has also asserted that while he was given second chances after being arrested twice in his younger years, those chances are often "denied to too many of our fellow Texans, particularly those who don't look like me or have access to the same opportunities that I did."[185] In September 2018, Cruz posted to Twitter a video of O'Rourke in a Dallas church, largely attended by African-Americans, speaking out against the killing of Bothem Shem Jean, an unarmed black man in his own home, by an off-duty police officer.[112] In the video, the crowd gave the speech a standing ovation, and the video served to bolster O'Rourke's standing nationally, going viral and receiving wide praise.[257]

Veterans

O'Rourke held monthly veterans town hall meetings throughout his term in Congress.[258] After hearing about long wait times, especially regarding mental health, he carried out his own local survey of veterans, which showed wait times far exceeding what the VA was reporting. In an attempt to better meet veterans' needs, O'Rourke and others worked to establish a new program at the El Paso VA designed to care for military related health issues within the hospital while using community clinics or medical facilities in the area for more standard medical needs.[259]

O'Rourke co-sponsored the bipartisan bill H.R. 1604, the Veterans' Mental Health Care Access Act, with Republican Congressmen Tom MacArthur, which expanded options for veterans seeking mental health care to non-VA facilities.[260][261] O'Rourke serves on both the House Veterans' Affairs Committee,[262] and the House Armed Services Committee, which oversees military installations such as Fort Bliss, headquartered in El Paso.[263]

In September 2016, three bills that were attached as amendments to H.R. 5620 (or the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016) were approved unanimously with bipartisan support in the House. The first, the Vet Connect Act of 2016 (H.R. 5162), would allow a veteran's entire medical record to be shared with a community provider, without explicit written consent, with a pilot of the program then being tried in El Paso. The Ask Veterans Act (H.R. 1319) would have a non-government contractor conduct an annual survey on behalf of the secretary of Veterans Affairs in order to determine veterans' experiences with hospital care and medical services at VA facilities, the results of which would be publicly accessible. O'Rourke developed this idea from feedback from veterans at town hall meetings. The Get Vets a Doc Now Act (H.R. 5501) would allow the VA to provide conditional job offers to resident doctors two years before the completion of their programs, in an effort to recruit doctors to fill the shortage of 43,000 clinicians.[264]

Personal life

 
O'Rourke with his wife and children, 2019

On July 3, 2001, O'Rourke's father, a longtime cycling enthusiast, died while riding his bicycle along the shoulder of Pete Domenici Highway, just outside the city limits of El Paso and across the New Mexico state line, when he was struck from behind by a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, throwing him 70 feet (21 m) and causing severe head injuries; he was pronounced dead at the scene. O'Rourke delivered the eulogy during the funeral service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in El Paso.[19][265][266][267]

O'Rourke married Amy Hoover Sanders, the daughter of Louann and Bill Sanders, at her parents' ranch in Lamy, New Mexico, near Santa Fe, on September 24, 2005.[36][268] Bill Sanders is a real estate developer who previously dated O'Rourke's mother and introduced her to O'Rourke's father.[269] The couple and their three children live in El Paso's Sunset Heights in the Henry Trost-designed mission-style house where General Hugh Scott and Pancho Villa reportedly met in 1915.[20][43][270] On December 20, 2022, O'Rourke's sister, Erin, died at the age of 42; she suffered from intellectual disabilities and O'Rourke had been her legal guardian at one time.[271]

O'Rourke is a lifelong Roman Catholic but has publicly expressed disagreement with Church doctrine, including its refusal to solemnize same-sex marriages.[78][272]

Legal issues

On May 19, 1995, O'Rourke and his friends jumped over a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) physical plant, and were arrested by the UTEP police. He was held in jail overnight and posted bail the following day. He was initially charged with attempted burglary, but prosecutors dropped the case against O'Rourke and his friends in February 1996 when UTEP declined to pursue the charges.[273]

O'Rourke was arrested for driving while intoxicated on September 27, 1998, at 3:00 a.m. on Interstate 10 in Anthony, Texas. O'Rourke had lost control of his car and hit another vehicle. The charges were dismissed in October 1999 after he completed a court-approved DWI program.[37][274] In response to criticism from a political opponent in 2005, O'Rourke said, "I've been open about it since the very beginning. I have owned up to it and I have taken responsibility for it."[273] He apologized and said he was "grateful for the second chance".[275]

Electoral history

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas: District 16
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beto O'Rourke 101,403 65.42
Republican Barbara Carrasco 51,043 32.93
Libertarian Junart Sodoy 2,559 1.65
Total votes 155,005 100.00
Democratic hold
2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas: District 16
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beto O'Rourke (incumbent) 49,338 67.49
Republican Corey Roen 21,324 29.17
Libertarian Jaime Pérez 2,443 3.34
Total votes 73,105 100.00
Democratic hold
2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas: District 16
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Beto O'Rourke (incumbent) 150,228 85.73
Libertarian Jaime Pérez 17,491 9.98
Green Mary Gourdoux 7,510 4.29
Total votes 175,229 100.00
Democratic hold
United States Senate election in Texas, 2018[276]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Ted Cruz (incumbent) 4,260,553 50.89% -5.57%
Democratic Beto O'Rourke 4,045,632 48.33% +7.71%
Libertarian Neal Dikeman 65,470 0.78% -1.28%
Total votes 8,371,655 100% N/A
Republican hold
2022 Texas gubernatorial election[277]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Greg Abbott (incumbent) 4,437,099 54.76% -1.05%
Democratic Beto O'Rourke 3,553,656 43.86% +1.35%
Libertarian Mark Tippetts 81,932 1.01% -0.68%
Green Delilah Barrios 28,584 0.35% N/A
Total votes 8,102,908 100.00% N/A
Turnout 8,102,908 45.85%
Registered electors 17,672,143
Republican hold

Works

  • O'Rourke, Beto and Byrd, Susie (2011). Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico. Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 1933693940.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In Texas, the position of county judge is a county's elected chief executive officer, not a judicial role.

References

  1. ^ "Ted Cruz defeats Beto O'Rourke in difficult re-election fight". The Texas Tribune. November 6, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Burns, Alexander (November 1, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Siders, David (March 2, 2022). "The establishment strikes back: 5 takeaways from the Texas primary". Politico. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  4. ^ a b . The Washington Post. December 25, 2012. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ^ Burns, Alexander (November 1, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke Is Dropping Out of the Presidential Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "Beto O'Rourke launches 2022 bid for Texas governor". www.cbsnews.com. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Exclusive: Beto O'Rourke is Running for Governor". November 15, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Democrats nominate Beto O'Rourke to run for Texas governor". Associated Press. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott easily wins re-election, beating Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke, NBC News projects". NBC News. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  10. ^ "Robert Francis Orourke, 26 Sep 1972; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997"". FamilySearch. Texas Department of State Health Services. December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  11. ^ "Births". El Paso Times. September 27, 1972. Retrieved September 22, 2018. Hotel Dieu: (Tuesday) Mr. and Mrs. Pat F. O'Rourke, 229 Fountain. boy.
  12. ^ Draper, Robert (November 15, 2014). "Texas, 3 Ways". The New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
    Beto O'Rourke — whose family came over from Ireland four generations ago to work on the railroad
  13. ^ "Texan with Leitrim roots sets sights on the White House". Leitrim Observer. March 21, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  14. ^ Tracey, Michael (March 28, 2019). "US presidential hopeful has roots in Milford". The Carlow Nationalist. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Naturalization Records, 1816 - 1955". Missouri Digital Heritage. Missouri Secretary of State. October 3, 1868. Retrieved November 5, 2018. Buchanan County Circuit Court, Final Certificate of Naturalization: O'Rourke, Bernard
  16. ^ [12][13][14][15]
  17. ^ Tilove, Jonathan (March 9, 2018). . First Reading. Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  18. ^ Stanton, John (October 14, 2014). "Juarez's Biggest Booster Is An Irish-American Congressman". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c Lambrecht, Bill (March 15, 2017). "Border congressman on verge of U.S. Senate run". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Viser, Matt (July 26, 2018). "Why So Many People Are Betting on Beto O'Rourke". Town & Country. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Garrett, Robert T. (September 28, 2018). . The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  22. ^ Scharrer, Gary (December 12, 1984). "Jackson wants action against apartheid". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  23. ^ a b Davis, Mary Margaret (December 7, 1985). "English-manor aura surrounds home". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 19, 2018. In the middle of Kern Place, County Judge Pat O'Rourke, wife Melissa and their three children are surrounded by what is the United States' current favorite décor, the British country look.
  24. ^ Stuart, Tessa (August 30, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Shares the Story of His Old Band, Foss — and a Single". Rolling Stone. from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  25. ^ Cush, Andy (October 4, 2017). "A Chat With Beto O'Rourke, the Ex-Punk Bassist Running for Ted Cruz's Senate Seat". Spin. from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  26. ^ a b Hooks, Christopher (October 3, 2017). "Beto Testing". The Texas Observer. from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  27. ^ a b c Tilove, Jonathan (June 6, 2019). "Why being part of the Cult of the Dead Cow could make Beto O'Rourke a better president". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  28. ^ a b "What Tech Giants Can Learn From Hackers: Ethical Lessons in Cybersecurity". Council on Foreign Relations. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  29. ^ Menn, Joseph. "Beto O'Rourke's secret membership in America's oldest hacking group". Reuters. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  30. ^ Heffernan, Virginia. "What Beto's Weird Teenage Poetry Tells Us About His Politics". Politico. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  31. ^ Haake, Garrett; Siemaszko, Corky (April 24, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke wins the endorsement of the original 'Psychedelic Warlord,' David Brock". NBC News. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  32. ^ "Texas debate: Beto O'Rourke bio and background". KHOU. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  33. ^ Seyffert, Estefania. "El Paso High celebrates alumni O'Rourke's Presidential bid". KTSM. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  34. ^ a b Hancock, Jamie (February 19, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke's high school past". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  35. ^ a b c Buzbee, Emma; Percy, Noah (November 1, 2018). "Punk rocker, rower, under-the-radar student: Beto O'Rourke's time at Columbia". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  36. ^ a b . The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  37. ^ a b Roberts, Chris (May 23, 2012). "New Silvestre Reyes ad attacks Beto O'Rourke's character". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2014.
  38. ^ a b Fernandez, Manny (May 30, 2012). "House Democrat Is Defeated in Texas Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  39. ^ Neff, Blake (March 24, 2014). "For O'Rourke, border a plus not a minus". The Hill. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  40. ^ Stuart, Tessa (August 30, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Shares the Story of His Old Band, Foss — and a Single". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  41. ^ Lambrecht, Bill (March 15, 2017). "Border congressman on verge of U.S. Senate run". San Antonio Express-News. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  42. ^ Lambert, Dan (March 7, 2007). . What's Up. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  43. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Benson, Eric (January 2018). "What Makes Beto Run?/Does Beto O'Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz?". Texas Monthly. pp. 78–108.
  44. ^ a b Cush, Andy (October 4, 2017). "A Chat With Beto O'Rourke, the Ex-Punk Bassist Running for Ted Cruz's Senate Seat". Spin. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  45. ^ "Foss". MySpace. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  46. ^ a b Cepeda, Eduardo (September 2018). "What It Was Like to Be In a Punk Band With Beto O'Rourke, According to Cedric Bixler-Zavala". Remezcla. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  47. ^ Arcand, Rob (August 30, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Unearths 1993 Single with Cedric Bixler-Zavala: Listen". Spin. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  48. ^ Napolin, Julie Beth. "Summer, by the swedes". the swedes. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  49. ^ "We found video of Beto O'Rourke singing the Ramones in a sheep mask and a white onesie". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  50. ^ Stein, Jeff (October 9, 2017). "'Sometimes a Hail Mary works': meet the Democrat trying to beat Ted Cruz in Texas". Vox. from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  51. ^ a b "Controlling Cyberspace: What's at stake with net neutrality". KFOX-TV. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  52. ^ "Meet Beto O'Rourke, the Texas punk rocker who could beat Ted Cruz". Newsweek. March 6, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  53. ^ a b Murphy, Tim (January 28, 2019). "The Inside Story of Beto O'Rourke's Short-Lived Alt-Weekly". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  54. ^ Lovegrove, Jamie (March 31, 2017). "Beto O'Rourke launches 2018 Senate campaign in underdog bid to unseat Ted Cruz". Dallas News. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  55. ^ Dhillon, Naomi (June 7, 2017). "Stanton Street announces new owership". Stanton Street. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  56. ^ Kolenc, Vic (July 6, 2000). "Online magazine dream helps drive publisher's efforts". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  57. ^ "Engagements: O'Rourke–Pearson". May 6, 2001. Retrieved April 7, 2019. Her fiancé is a news director for KTSM News Channel 9.
  58. ^ Gilot, Louie (January 6, 2004). "52 under 40". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  59. ^ Bailey, Holly (October 2, 2018). "Like Ted Cruz, Beto O'Rourke had a fiery, charismatic father. The similarities end there." Yahoo! News. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  60. ^ Seyffert, Estefania (March 18, 2019). "Becoming Beto: O'Rourke family shares candidate's upbringing". KTSM. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  61. ^ a b Terris, Ben (February 21, 2017). "Beto O'Rourke is a Mexico-loving liberal in Texas. Can he really beat Ted Cruz?". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  62. ^ "El Paso City Council District 8 Race – May 07, 2005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  63. ^ "2005 General Election". City of El Paso. Retrieved May 20, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  64. ^ . El Paso Inc. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
  65. ^ "Our Campaigns – El Paso City Council District 8 Race – May 12, 2007". ourcampaigns.com.
  66. ^ "Low turnout not as big a surprise as voting trends". El Paso Times.[permanent dead link]
  67. ^ Crowder, David (June 15, 2005). "Council draws terms, picks mayor pro tem". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  68. ^ Crowder, David (June 15, 2005). "O'Rourke to give up pro tem position". El Paso Times. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  69. ^ Welsome, Eileen. "Eminent Disaster". Texas Observer.
  70. ^ "Downtown plan Land Grab Opponents using stall tactics". El Paso Times. September 7, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  71. ^ O'Rourke, Beto (October 22, 2006). "City rep moves past barrage of unfounded ethics charges". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  72. ^ Smith, Jordan (January 12, 2009). "El Paso Council Wants to End the War on Drugs". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  73. ^ "El Paso's small step". The Economist. September 24, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  74. ^ Sledge, Matt (April 18, 2012). "Rep. Silvestre Reyes, Challenger Beto O'Rourke Square Off Over Drug War In Fierce Texas Primary". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  75. ^ Fernandez, Manny (February 17, 2016). "Pope's Presence Crosses Border Into U.S., Even if He Doesn't". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  76. ^ Crowder, David (January 9, 2009). . Newspaper Tree. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  77. ^ Weiner, Rachel (May 30, 2012). "Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) defeated by Beto O'Rourke". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  78. ^ a b c Taffet, David (January 4, 2013). "El Paso's Beto O'Rourke among strongest new LGBT allies in Congress". Dallas Voice. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  79. ^ Ortiz Uribe, Mónica (May 14, 2012). "West Texas Congressional Race Could Yield Surprises". Fronteras. KJZZ. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  80. ^ "U.S. House District 16". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  81. ^ a b Aguilar, Julián (July 24, 2013). "El Paso Lawmaker Can't Join Hispanic Caucus; Some Seek Rule Change". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  82. ^ Caplan-Bricker, Nora (October 4, 2014). "The Bipartisan Border-Abuse Bill Congress Is Ignoring". National Journal: 1.
  83. ^ Rasmussen, Patty (July 2014). "Moving Along". Site Selection. 59 (4): 102.
  84. ^ Willis, Derek (November 2, 2014). "House Democrats Dig Deep for Cash, From Their Colleagues' Campaigns". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  85. ^ Terris, Ben (November 22, 2014). "Stuck Singing Backup". The Washington Post.
  86. ^ a b c Borunda, Daniel (May 11, 2015). "U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke talks about Israel trip". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  87. ^ a b Moore, Robert (June 10, 2016). "Rep. Beto O'Rourke endorses Hillary Clinton". El Paso Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  88. ^ a b Murphy, Tim (September–October 2017). "Houston, We Have Progress". Mother Jones. 42 (5): 24–65. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  89. ^ Valdez, Diana Washington (October 13, 2015). "Congressman O'Rourke to seek re-election". El Paso Times. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  90. ^ "Texas U.S. House 16th District Results: Beto O'Rourke Wins". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  91. ^ a b Svitek, Patrick (September 23, 2017). "O'Rourke praises Pelosi but doesn't want her help in Senate bid". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  92. ^ "Most Neglected Constituency in Immigration Reform: Are US Citizens The Key?". PR Newswire. Washington. February 15, 2017.
  93. ^ Mali, Meghashyam (March 14, 2019). "O'Rourke nabs 2020 endorsement from his successor in Congress". The Hill.
  94. ^ a b . New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  95. ^ . Congressional Arts Caucus. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  96. ^ Epstein, Reid J. (March 31, 2017). "Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke Launches Longshot Senate Challenge to Ted Cruz". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  97. ^ Livingston, Abby (March 29, 2017). "Rep. Beto O'Rourke to launch Senate run against Ted Cruz Friday". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  98. ^ Lee, Jasmine C.; Almukthar, Sarah; Bloch, Matthew (March 7, 2018). "Texas Primary Election Results". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  99. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David (June 9, 2018). "Texas has 254 counties. Beto O'Rourke has campaigned against Ted Cruz in each of them". The Texas Tribune.
  100. ^ a b Alberta, Tim (November 4, 2018). "Did Beto Blow It?". Politico. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  101. ^ a b c d Svitek, Patrick (October 12, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke raised more than $38 million in the third quarter alone — a record that's about three times Ted Cruz's haul". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  102. ^ a b c Guynn, Jessica; Jervis, Rick; Schnaars, Christopher. "The Facebook candidate: Beto O'Rourke's social media savvy fuels long-shot Ted Cruz challenge" (October 26, 2018). USA Today. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  103. ^ Roose, Kevin (August 2, 2018). "Candidates Enter The Texting Era With a Plea: Will U Vote 4 Me?". The New York Times. Vol. 167, no. 58042. pp. B1–B4. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  104. ^ a b Cunningham, Meg (October 16, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke is taking advantage of the digital ad spending trend". ABC News. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  105. ^ Bailey, Holly (August 18, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke, on a 'suicide mission' against Ted Cruz, is having the time of his life—and might even come out of it alive". Yahoo! News. from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  106. ^ Solomon, Dan (March 10, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Strategy Isn't Changing". Texas Monthly. from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  107. ^ Fernandez, Manny (November 26, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Says He Isn't Ruling Out 2020 Presidential Bid". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019. Mr. O'Rourke stood out in the 2018 midterm campaign as an unusually charismatic figure and speaker—a former punk rock bassist who became a businessman and City Council member before entering Congress.
  108. ^ Rice, Andrew (November 7, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke and the Limits of Charisma". New York. from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019. O'Rourke, a former musician, started the campaign talking about his 'punk rock' campaign philosophy, vowing to refuse corporate donations and touring Texas by van, as likely to appear at a honky-tonk bar as the Rotary Club. By the end, he was playing arena shows ... In politics, any mildly compelling candidate is apt to be called a 'rock star,' but O'Rourke actually performed like one.
  109. ^ Zurcher, Anthony (April 4, 2018). "The place that tells you everything about US politics". BBC News. from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2019. O'Rourke himself is a former punk rocker who cut a few albums and toured the US as the bass guitarist in the band Foss. He's still got a bit of that rocker edge, sprinkling some choice obscenities into his speeches and even media interviews.
  110. ^ Swartz, Mimi (May 19, 2017). "Opinion: Why Texas Democrats Are Betting on Beto O'Rourke". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  111. ^ MCAFEE, TIERNEY (August 23, 2018). "Rep. Beto O'Rourke Defends NFL Protests in Viral Video: 'I Can Think of Nothing More American'". People. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  112. ^ a b Chait, Jonathan (September 22, 2018). "Ted Cruz Attacks Beto O'Rourke for Denouncing Police Murder in a Black Church". New York Intelligencer. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  113. ^ a b Johnson, Jenna (August 30, 2018). "Why so many people are coming to see Beto O'Rourke: A revolt against Trump and a demand for compassion". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  114. ^ Mekelburg, Madlin (July 13, 2017). "Democratic congressman raises $2M in bid against Sen. Ted Cruz". USA Today. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  115. ^ Rahman, Fauzeya (July 27, 2017). "Beto O'Rourke claims near-uniqueness in not taking corporate or PAC contributions". Politifact. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  116. ^ "Beto O'Rourke says he doesn't take PAC donations". PolitiFact. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  117. ^ Lovegrove, Jamie (June 2017). . Dallas News. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
  118. ^ Relman, Eliza (March 1, 2018). "A Democrat no one's heard of just raised triple the amount Ted Cruz did, despite rejecting special interest money". Business Insider.
  119. ^ Burke, Michael (October 15, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke will not share $38 million he raised with other Dem Senate candidates". The Hill. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  120. ^ Reed, Colin (December 26, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke eyeing White House after losing Senate race". Fox News.
  121. ^ Dartunorro, Clark (September 22, 2018). "Cruz, O'Rourke clash on issues — and get personal — in feisty first debate for Texas Senate seat". CNN. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  122. ^ Arkin, James (September 21, 2018). "Cruz, O'Rourke clash in raucous Texas Senate debate". Politico. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  123. ^ Fernandez, Manny; Ferman, Mitchell (September 21, 2018). "Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke Debate Who Is 'Out of Step' With Texas". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  124. ^ Diaz, Kevin (September 22, 2018). "Beto-Cruz debate: In this knife fight, Cruz drew more blood". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  125. ^ Baranauckas, Carla (October 11, 2018). "Ted Cruz Rejects CNN Town Hall; Beto O'Rourke Will Get Full Hour". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  126. ^ a b "Beto O'Rourke takes questions at CNN town hall: Live updates". CNN. October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  127. ^ "Beto O'Rourke says he'd vote to impeach Trump during CNN town hall". The New York Post. Associated Press. October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  128. ^ The Editorial Board (October 19, 2018). "For U.S. Senate: Beto O'Rourke". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  129. ^ "We recommend Beto O'Rourke for U.S. Senate". Dallas News. October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  130. ^ "For U.S. Senate: Electing Beto O'Rourke is good business". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 26, 2018.
  131. ^ Doyle, Patrick (September 18, 2018). "Lukas Nelson Defends His Dad Willie's Beto O'Rourke Endorsement". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  132. ^ Hughes, Hillary (September 30, 2018). "Willie Nelson Performs New "Vote 'Em Out" Song for Beto O'Rourke Rally". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  133. ^ Corbin, Cristina (November 6, 2018). "Beyoncé endorses Beto O'Rourke in Instagram posts hours before polls close". Fox News. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  134. ^ "Here's how 13 celebrities endorsed Beto O'Rourke for U.S. Senate". El Paso Times. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  135. ^ Lundstrom, Kathryn (September 19, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke leads Ted Cruz by 2 among likely voters in U.S. Senate race, new poll finds". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  136. ^ Goldberg, Michelle (October 1, 2018). "Opinion | Save Us, Texas". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  137. ^ a b SHEPHARD, ALEX (October 19, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Isn't Running for Senate Anymore". The New Republic. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  138. ^ a b Hamby, Peter (August 29, 2018). ""It Seems Like Iowa in 2007": Could Beto O'Rourke Be the Next Obama?". The Hive. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  139. ^ Riotta, Chris (November 7, 2018). "Ted Cruz wins tight Senate race against Beto O'Rourke". The Independent. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  140. ^ Sanchez, Carlos (November 9, 2018). "Despite Tight Race With Ted Cruz, Beto O'Rourke Got Less Votes Than Least-Popular Statewide Republican". Texas Monthly. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  141. ^ "Ted Cruz thwarts challenge from Democratic insurgent Beto O'Rourke in tight Senate race, ABC News projects". ABC News. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  142. ^ Wallace, Jeremy (December 6, 2018). "Ted Cruz's margin of victory over Beto O'Rourke was even slimmer than we thought". HoustonChronicle.com.
  143. ^ Boney, Jeffrey L. (November 10, 2018). "The Beto Effect". The Philadelphia Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  144. ^ Livni, Ephrat (November 10, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke helped turn Texas courts blue in US midterms — Quartz". qz.com. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  145. ^ a b Henson, James (November 9, 2018). "Opinion | Beto O'Rourke should run for Senate in 2020. He could win". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  146. ^ "Ted Cruz thwarts challenge from Democratic insurgent Beto O'Rourke in tight Senate race, ABC News projects". ABC News. November 7, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  147. ^ Lemon, Jason (November 11, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke has 'star quality', Republican strategist says, as calls for 2020 presidential run increase". Newsweek. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  148. ^ Geraghty, Jim (November 12, 2018). "Long-Shot Beto". National Review. 70 (21): 16–17. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  149. ^ Swanson, Ian (November 11, 2018). "Beto 2020 calls multiply among Dems". The Hill. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  150. ^ Reints, Renae (November 19, 2018). "The Possibility of a Presidential Run by Beto O'Rourke Has Democratic Donors Holding Their Breath". Fortune. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  151. ^ Tilove, Jonathan (March 13, 2019). "Breaking: Beto O'Rourke confirmed 2020 presidential run, TV station reports". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  152. ^ Wilkie, Christina (March 14, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke is running for president. Like Obama, he has sought the middle ground on policy – while his Democratic rivals veer to the left". CNBC. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  153. ^ "Democrat Beto O'Rourke announces 2020 White House bid". Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  154. ^ Kruse, Michael (May 10, 2019). "Beto's Long History of Failing Upward". Politico. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  155. ^ Burns, Alexander (November 1, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race". The New York Times.
  156. ^ "Beto O'Rourke's full statement on dropping out of the 2020 race". CNN. November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  157. ^ Re, Gregg and Samuel Chamberlain (March 2, 2020). "O'Rourke endorses Biden at Dallas rally on eve of Super Tuesday, as ex-VP appears to offer gun-control role". Fox News. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  158. ^ Svitek, Patrick (December 20, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke unveils PAC with focus on boosting Texas Democrats in 2020". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  159. ^ "Republican projected to win Texas state House seat in race watched for 2020 clues". NBC News. January 29, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  160. ^ WEBER, PAUL J. (January 29, 2020). "Democrats' early 2020 blitz to strike in Texas flops". KEYE. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  161. ^ Diaz, Daniella; Grayer, Annie (February 19, 2021). "While Cruz was traveling from Cancun, O'Rourke and AOC helped Texans in crisis". CNN. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  162. ^ Romero, Simon (February 19, 2021). "Beto O'Rourke's response to crisis rekindles speculation about his political plans". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  163. ^ Brewster, Adam (November 15, 2021). "Beto O'Rourke launches 2022 bid for Texas governor". CBS News. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  164. ^ "Texas Governor – Abbot vs. O'Rourke". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  165. ^ "GOP's Abbott wins 3rd term as Texas governor, beats O'Rourke". AP News. November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  166. ^ Jilani, Zaid (December 4, 2018). "What Does Beto O'Rourke Actually Stand For? | Current Affairs". Current Affairs. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  167. ^ Rice, Andrew (July 9, 2018). "Can a Democrat Ever Win in Texas? Beto O'Rourke Says Yes". New York Intelligencer. New York. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  168. ^ Bradner, Eric (April 14, 2018). "Why Democrats everywhere are watching Beto O'Rourke's Senate campaign in Texas". CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  169. ^ "The cult of Beto". theweek.com. October 10, 2018. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  170. ^ Cook, James (October 2, 2018). "Democrats dazzled by rising star in Texas". BBC News. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  171. ^ Schmidt, Robert (September 30, 2009). "Pro-Business 'New Democrats' Try to Shape Financial Regulations". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  172. ^ Mayer, Lindsay (November 17, 2009). "Blue Dogs and New Democrats Find Friends on Wall Street". OpenSecrets. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  173. ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  174. ^ Dovere, Edward-Isaac (March 20, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Doesn't Want to Be Democrats' Next National Cause". Politico Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  175. ^ "Beto O'Rourke, Representative for Texas's 16th Congressional District – GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  176. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Silver, Nate (January 30, 2017). "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  177. ^ Allegheny College (February 23, 2018). 2018 Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life (YouTube). Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  178. ^ "Bipartisan Road Trip By Two Texas Congressmen Wins National Award". Texas Monthly. July 18, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  179. ^ "Civility award goes to Texas buddies Beto O'Rourke and Will Hurd, as each scraps for partisan win in the fall". Dallas News. July 17, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  180. ^ "The Future of Bipartisanship in Congress Might Be Road Trips". Time. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  181. ^ "Beto O'Rourke and Will Hurd road trip wins them 'Civility in Public Life' award". HoustonChronicle.com. July 17, 2018.
  182. ^ a b "The economy". Times Record News. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  183. ^ "Beto O'Rourke's Ratings and Endorsements Print Track This Politician". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  184. ^ Lyons, Joseph D. (August 29, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke Tackled How The School-To-Prison Pipeline Stifles Young People". Bustle. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  185. ^ a b c O'Rourke, Beto (August 27, 2018). "O'Rourke: Texas should lead the way on true criminal justice reform [Opinion]". HoustonChronicle.com. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  186. ^ a b c "Beto O'Rourke calls on Texas to decriminalize pot, stop arresting so many students". Dallas News. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  187. ^ Bradner, Eric (March 4, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke calls for federal marijuana legalization ahead of likely 2020 bid". CNN. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  188. ^ Corchado, Alfredo (March 10, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke's El Paso roots may be key in his uphill battle against Ted Cruz".
  189. ^ O'Rourke, Beto; Byrd, Susie (2011). Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico. Cinco Puntos Press (published July 10, 2011). ISBN 978-1-933693-94-1.
  190. ^ Blad, Evie (July 24, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke's Education Plan: A Surge in Federal Funds, With Equity Strings Attached". Education Week. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  191. ^ Smith, Corbett (March 7, 2022). "Beto O'Rourke pledges to increase school funding, fight vouchers during Dallas campaign stop". Dallas News. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  192. ^ Tolbert, Jim (April 18, 2012). "Caring for the Environment and Conservation is Personal with Beto O'Rourke". elpasonaturally. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  193. ^ . KVIA-TV. January 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 6, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  194. ^ a b "Ted Cruz Challenger Picks Up Key Environmental Endorsement". HuffPost. December 11, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  195. ^ "Beto O'Rourke on Energy & Oil". www.ontheissues.org.
  196. ^ scorecard. "Voting record". SCV. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  197. ^ "Beto O'Rourke Is Running for President and It All Started With Weed". The Intercept. March 14, 2019.
  198. ^ "Ted Cruz slams Beto O'Rourke over Israel vote". Houston Chronicle. September 17, 2018.
  199. ^ "O'Rourke: U.S. Moving Embassy to Jerusalem Was 'Provocative,' Provided 'Incentives and Incitement to Violence'". Washington Free Beacon. June 25, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  200. ^ "Democratic Presidential Hopeful Beto O'Rourke Bashes 'Racist' Netanyahu Before Israel Election". Haaretz. April 8, 2019.
  201. ^ "O'Rourke: US-Israel relationship must transcend 'a prime minister who is racist'". The Hill. April 7, 2019.
  202. ^ a b c "Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Beto O'Rourke press for accountability in Jamal Khashoggi's death". The Texas Tribune. October 20, 2018.
  203. ^ "Texas Democrats Largely Back Obama on Iran Deal". The Texas Tribune. September 11, 2015.
  204. ^ "O'Rourke concerned president may 'sleepwalk or tweet' country into war". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. August 11, 2017.
  205. ^ "IRAQ WAR". AP News. April 2, 2019.
  206. ^ a b "Ignore the skeptics. Beto O'Rourke has the policy chops to run for president. [Opinion]". Houston Chronicle. December 15, 2018.
  207. ^ Hagen, Lisa (July 18, 2018). "Russia raises problems for GOP candidates". The Hill. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  208. ^ Panetta, Grace (July 17, 2018). "A major Democratic Senate candidate just called for Trump's impeachment after his press conference with Putin". Business Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  209. ^ "Beto O'Rourke accuses Trump of collusion with Russia". Global News. March 23, 2019.
  210. ^ "Trump has a 'legitimate' gripe with China, but his trade war alienated partners, Democrat Beto O'Rourke says". CNBC. March 14, 2019.
  211. ^ "Beto O'Rourke on Foreign Policy". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  212. ^ "Here's How The U.S. Sparked A Refugee Crisis On The Border, In 8 Simple Steps". HuffPost. July 18, 2014.
  213. ^ Woolf, Nicky (June 23, 2016). "Democrats stream gun control sit-in on Periscope after Republicans turn TV cameras off". The Guardian. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  214. ^ Stracqualursi, Veronica (March 7, 2018). "O'Rourke defends gun control stance in Texas Senate race". CNN.
  215. ^ Benson, Eric (December 21, 2017). "Does Beto O'Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz?". Texas Monthly. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  216. ^ Greene, Sydney; Pollock, Cassandra (February 23, 2018). "We asked all 38 Texans in Congress about gun control after the Florida school shooting. Ten answered". The Texas Tribune.
  217. ^ a b "'Hell, yes,' Beto O'Rourke's call to confiscate AR-15s pushes gun debate to new level". Dallas News. September 13, 2019.
  218. ^ Pane, Lisa (September 22, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke calls for gun buybacks: How would that work?". Christian Science Monitor/Associated Press. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  219. ^ Boot, Max (September 17, 2019). "Thanks, Beto. We need to debate an assault-weapon buyback". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  220. ^ @BetoORourke (September 2, 2019). "I was asked how I'd address people's fears that we will take away their assault rifles." (Tweet). Retrieved November 2, 2018 – via Twitter.
  221. ^ McArdle, Mairead (October 16, 2019). "Beto Admits Non-Compliant AR-15 Owners Would Receive a 'Visit from a Law-Enforcement Officer' under His Plan". National Review. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  222. ^ "'Hell yes': Beto O'Rourke explains how he intends to get your AR-15s". NBC News. September 13, 2019.
  223. ^ "Beto "Gave Away the Game": Will O'Rourke's Hell-Yes Moment Cost Him Back in Texas?". Vanity Fair. September 20, 2019.
  224. ^ Svitek, Patrick (September 13, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke gets debate moment: "Hell yes, we're going to take your" assault weapons". The Texas Tribune.
  225. ^ Maegan Vazquez and Gregory Krieg (May 25, 2022). "Beto O'Rourke confronts Texas governor during update on Uvalde elementary school shooting". CNN. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  226. ^ "Beto O'Rourke interrupts briefing, echoing US debate on guns". AP News. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  227. ^ Hooper, Kelly (May 25, 2022). "'You are doing nothing': O'Rourke accosts Abbott at press conference on shooting". Politico. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  228. ^ Ulloa, Jazmine (June 4, 2022). "For Beto O'Rourke, Talk of Gun Control Has Become Both a Political Risk and Reward". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  229. ^ O'Keefe, Ed (March 6, 2018). "Ted Cruz calls out challenger Beto O'Rourke in a sign of a tough fight to come in Texas". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  230. ^ Gillman, Todd (August 11, 2018). "Far apart on immigration, Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke both use the issue to woo voters". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  231. ^ O'Rourke, Beto (May 2014). "The View of Immigration Reform from the U.S.-Mexico Border". Public Administration Review. 74 (3): 302. doi:10.1111/puar.12209.
  232. ^ a b Borunda, Daniela (September 15, 2017). "Protecting 'Dreamers' top priority, O'Rourke says at State of Congress luncheon". El Paso Times. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  233. ^ Sanchez, Sara (November 28, 2016). "O'Rourke addresses needs, concerns related to DACA". El Paso Times. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  234. ^ Beto O'Rourke (October 19, 2016). The Border Makes America Great | Beto O'Rourke | TEDxElPaso (video). El Paso, TX: YouTube.
  235. ^ O'Rourke, Beto (March 1, 2017). "Thoughts on the joint session of Congress". Medium. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  236. ^ Aguilar, Julián; García Hernández, Juan Luis LUIS (June 17, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke, Veronica Escobar lead Father's Day march on tent city housing separated immigrant children". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  237. ^ González, María Cortés (June 17, 2018). "Beto O'Rourke leads Tornillo protest against separation of immigrant families". El Paso Times.
  238. ^ "Separating Children From Parents at Border Is 'Un-American' and 'on All of Us,' Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke Says". KTLA. CNN Wire. June 17, 2018.
  239. ^ Diaz, Kevin (August 10, 2018). "Road Work Ahead". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  240. ^ Frazin, Rachel (April 5, 2019). "O'Rourke compares Trump immigration comments to Nazi Germany". The Hill.
  241. ^ a b Selby, W. Gardner (March 15, 2018). "Ted Cruz: Beto O'Rourke wants open border and to take guns". PolitiFact. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  242. ^ Madani, Doha (February 15, 2019). "'I'd take the wall down,' says Beto O'Rourke of current border barriers". NBC News. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  243. ^ Sullivan, Kate (September 13, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke: "Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47"". CNN. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  244. ^ "Warren, Buttigieg reject O'Rourke threat to tax anti-LGBTQ churches". NBC News. October 14, 2019.
  245. ^ Holmes Lybrand; Tara Subramaniam (October 11, 2019). "Beto O'Rourke said religious institutions should lose tax-exempt status if they oppose gay marriage. Is that legal?". CNN.
  246. ^ "Beto O'Rourke said he would revoke tax-exempt status from religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage". ABC News.
  247. ^ SCHOR, ELANA (October 15, 2019). "Beto wants to tax churches, Warren, Buttigieg say 'no way'". WKRC. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  248. ^ "Beto O'Rourke on Abortion". OnTheIssues.org – Candidates on the Issues. January 22, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2019. O'Rourke voted NAY to No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R.7)...
  249. ^ Dey, Sneha (June 27, 2022). "Beto O'Rourke vows to repeal Texas abortion ban if elected governor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  250. ^ "Cosponsors – H.R.3135 – 113th Congress (2013–2014): Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013". Congress.gov. January 22, 2014.
  251. ^ Scott, Dylan (March 18, 2019). "Medicare for America, Beto O'Rourke's favorite health care plan, explained". Vox. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  252. ^ Novack, Sophie (September 20, 2017). "Where do Texas Democrats Stand on Single-Payer Health Care?". The Texas Observer. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  253. ^ Evans, Glenn (March 1, 2018). "In Longview stop, O'Rourke says he's confident gun measure will pass". Longview News-Journal.
  254. ^ . Beto for Senate. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  255. ^ Brian, Higgins (October 27, 2017). "H.R.4094 – 115th Congress (2017–2018): Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017". Congress.gov.
  256. ^ Johnson, Jenna (August 31, 2018). "Why so many people are coming to see Beto O'Rourke: A revolt against Trump and a demand for compassion". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  257. ^ Wang, Amy B (September 22, 2018). "Analysis | 'Master of the Self-Own': People wonder why Ted Cruz tweeted popular video of Beto O'Rourke". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  258. ^ Montgomery, Shelby (September 17, 2018). . KVIA. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  259. ^ Investigations, Scott Bronstein and Drew Griffin, CNN. "Could congressman's plan save the VA? – CNNPolitics". CNN. Retrieved September 20, 2018. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  260. ^ Levinsky, David. . Burlington County Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  261. ^ . Congressman Tom MacArthur. March 26, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  262. ^ . veterans.house.gov. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  263. ^ . Congressman Will Hurd. January 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  264. ^ Sanchez, Sara (September 14, 2016). "O'Rourke's proposals to aid veterans pass House". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  265. ^ Crowder, David (July 4, 2001). "Political risk-taker died doing what he loved". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  266. ^ Cruz, Laura (July 7, 2001). "Friends, family say goodbye to O'Rourke". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  267. ^ Bieri, Kate (July 9, 2017). . KVIA ABC-7 News. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  268. ^ Terrell, Steve (March 30, 2019). "From Santa Fe to the White House?". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  269. ^ Helman, Christopher; Debter, Lisa (November 4, 2018), "Is Beto O'Rourke's Wife Really A 'Billionaire' Heiress? Not Likely.", Forbes.com, retrieved March 3, 2019
  270. ^ Fischer, Steve (October 5, 2017). "Sunset Heights offers tour of history: Steve Fischer column". El Paso Times. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  271. ^ Santana, Steven (December 21, 2022). "'Rest in peace, Bear': Beto O'Rourke mourns death of his sister". mySA. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  272. ^ Beto O'Rourke on Women's Right to Choose (YouTube). Greater Houston for Beto. February 16, 2018. Event occurs at 0:47. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2019. My mom who raised me and whose single greatest disappointment in life is that I'm not a better Catholic and I'm not in mass right now.
  273. ^ a b Fonce-Olivas, Tammy (April 20, 2005). "Tax Relief, Revitalization Motivate South-West District Candidates". El Paso Times. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  274. ^ Diaz, Kevin (August 30, 2018). . Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  275. ^ Golshan, Tara (August 29, 2018). "Texas Republicans are trying to use Beto's punk rock days against him". Vox. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  276. ^ "2018 General Election". Texas Secretary of State. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  277. ^ "Texas Election Results".

Sources

  • Alexander, Dan (2019), "The Net Worth Of Every 2020 Presidential Candidate", Forbes, ISSN 0015-6914, archived from the original on November 4, 2019, retrieved November 4, 2019
  • Long, Trish (2019), "Beto net worth: Personal finances disclosures indicate O'Rourke worth millions", El Paso Times, ISSN 0746-3588, archived from the original on November 4, 2019, retrieved November 4, 2019

Further reading

  • Melissa del Bosque, "Lights, Camera, Mayhem!", Texas Observer, April 17, 2009.
  • Matt Flegenheimer, "Beto O'Rourke Was Once Adrift in New York City. Now He's Searching Again". The New York Times, February 6, 2019.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beto O'Rourke.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Beto O'Rourke.
 
Wikisource has original works by or about:
Beto O'Rourke
  • Beto for Texas campaign website
  • Beto O'Rourke at Curlie
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
Civic offices
Preceded by Member of the El Paso City Council
from the 8th district
2005–2011 		Succeeded by
Cortney Niland
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 16th congressional district
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Texas
(Class 1)
2018 		Most recent
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas
2022
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative

October 21, 2023
beto, rourke, robert, francis, beto, rourke, also, spanish, pronunciation, beto, born, september, 1972, american, politician, served, representative, texas, 16th, congressional, district, from, 2013, 2019, member, democratic, party, rourke, party, nominee, sen. Robert Francis Beto O Rourke ˈ b ɛ t oʊ BEH toh also ˈ b ɛ d oʊ BED oh Spanish pronunciation beto born September 26 1972 is an American politician who served as the U S representative for Texas s 16th congressional district from 2013 to 2019 A member of the Democratic Party O Rourke was the party s nominee for the U S Senate in 2018 1 a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2020 2 and the party s nominee for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election 3 Beto O RourkeO Rourke in 2019Member of the U S House of Representatives from Texas s 16th districtIn office January 3 2013 January 3 2019Preceded bySilvestre ReyesSucceeded byVeronica EscobarMayor pro tempore of El PasoIn office June 14 2005 June 20 2006MayorJohn CookPreceded byAnthony CobosSucceeded byPresi OrtegaMember of the El Paso City Councilfrom the 8th districtIn office June 1 2005 June 27 2011Preceded byAnthony CobosSucceeded byCortney NilandPersonal detailsBornRobert Francis O Rourke 1972 09 26 September 26 1972 age 51 El Paso Texas U S Political partyDemocraticSpouseAmy Sanders m 2005 wbr Children3Parent s Pat O RourkeMelissa WilliamsEducationColumbia University BA SignatureO Rourke was born into a local political family in El Paso Texas and is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and Columbia University 4 While studying at Columbia he began a brief music career as bass guitarist in the post hardcore band Foss After his college graduation he returned to El Paso and began a business career In 2005 he was elected to the El Paso City Council serving until 2011 he served as mayor pro tempore during his first year in office O Rourke was elected to the U S House of Representatives in 2012 after defeating eight term incumbent Democrat Silvestre Reyes in the primary After being re elected to the House in 2014 and 2016 O Rourke declined to seek another term in 2018 Instead he sought the U S Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz running a competitive campaign that drew national attention Despite losing the election to Cruz by a margin of 2 6 O Rourke set a record for most votes ever cast for a Democrat in a midterm election in Texas On March 14 2019 O Rourke announced his candidacy in the 2020 United States presidential election He suspended his campaign on November 1 2019 due to a lack of traction and financial issues He later endorsed Joe Biden on the same day as Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg 5 On March 1 2022 O Rourke won the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial election 6 7 8 He was defeated by Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in the general election 9 Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Childhood and young adult years 1 2 Education 2 Career 2 1 Music 2 2 Business 2 3 Politics 3 El Paso City Council 2005 2012 4 U S House of Representatives 2013 2019 4 1 Elections 4 1 1 2012 4 1 2 2014 4 1 3 2016 4 2 Committee assignments 4 3 Caucus memberships 5 2018 U S Senate campaign 5 1 Funding 5 2 Debates 5 3 Endorsements 5 4 Polls and news coverage 5 5 Results 6 2020 presidential campaign 7 2019 2021 activities 8 2022 Texas gubernatorial election 9 Political positions 9 1 Bipartisanship 9 2 Business 9 3 Crime 9 4 Drugs 9 5 Education 9 6 Environment 9 7 Foreign policy 9 8 Guns 9 9 Immigration 9 10 Religious liberty 9 11 Social issues 9 12 Veterans 10 Personal life 10 1 Legal issues 11 Electoral history 12 Works 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 Sources 17 Further reading 18 External linksEarly lifeChildhood and young adult years Robert Francis O Rourke was born on September 26 1972 at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso Texas to Pat Francis O Rourke and Melissa Martha O Rourke nee Williams 10 11 He is a fourth generation Irish American 16 In his infancy his family gave him the nickname Beto initially to distinguish him from his namesake grandfather 17 18 Pat O Rourke served in public office in El Paso as County Commissioner and County Judge a 4 he was an associate of Texas Governor Mark White 19 served as the state chairman of Jesse Jackson s 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns 20 switched parties in the early 1990s and made several failed attempts to win election to public office as a Republican 21 Jesse Jackson conducted a press conference on December 11 1984 in the den of O Rourke s boyhood home in Kern Place 22 23 In eighth grade O Rourke was introduced to punk rock through the Clash s London Calling 1979 an album he later called a revelation 24 By the time he was 14 or 15 years old he started going to local punk shows He soon discovered Dischord Records a Washington D C based independent label with a catalog of punk music and began reading punk zines like Maximumrocknroll and Flipside 25 O Rourke felt alienated from the City of El Paso as an adolescent in the 1980s He told The Texas Observer that in the El Paso of his youth There was nothing dangerous There was no energy There was no risk 26 El Paso s punk scene though small helped O Rourke find a sense of community in the city 26 As a teenager O Rourke was a member of the computer hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow named after a shut down Lubbock slaughterhouse 27 The group is notorious for releasing tools that allowed ordinary people to hack computers running Microsoft s Windows At O Rourke s insistence the group included female members making it one of the few groups of that era to do so 27 28 O Rourke has admitted that he stole long distance phone service during his teen years in order to use his dial up modem O Rourke wrote numerous poems and other texts for Cult of the Dead Cow under the pseudonym Psychedelic Warlord a name taken from a 1974 rock song by the band Hawkwind 29 30 31 O Rourke has expressed regret over some fictional short stories he wrote as a teenager for the cDc private online forum which included sexual and violent themes 27 28 Education O Rourke began his education at Escuela Montessori Del Valle preschool and continued to Rivera and Mesita Elementary Schools 23 32 In 1988 after two years at El Paso High School 33 he enrolled in Woodberry Forest School an all male boarding school in Madison County Virginia 34 O Rourke attended Columbia University where in his junior year he co captained Columbia s heavyweight rowing crew 35 He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature 35 36 37 He is fluently bilingual in English and Spanish 38 CareerMusic Main article Foss band For me it was a great opportunity to see the country You literally were playing for gas money in a bar in a club or in somebody s basement and that would take you to the next town and the next show O Rourke on his experience in the band Foss 39 O Rourke had a brief career in music during his college years 40 He joined his first band called Swipe after he left El Paso to attend Columbia University in New York Swipe played shows at bars and clubs in New York and once opened for the Olympia Washington based punk band Fitz of Depression 41 After being introduced to Bad Brains as a teen 42 O Rourke became a fan of punk music O Rourke and two friends from El Paso Mike Stevens and Arlo Klahr learned to play musical instruments O Rourke took up the bass 43 In 1991 while at Columbia University the trio recruited drummer Cedric Bixler Zavala eventual vocalist for At the Drive In and The Mars Volta and together they formed the band Foss 44 45 During the summer they toured the United States and Canada 43 garnering the support of Feist 46 The group released a self titled demo and a 7 inch record The El Paso Pussycats on Western Breed Records in 1993 44 46 O Rourke also played drums in the band Swedes who released an album called Summer in 1995 47 48 O Rourke and ex members of Foss later started two other bands a rock group called Fragile Gang and a cover band called The Sheeps 49 The DIY ethos O Rourke had first encountered in the punk scene informed some of his later political decisions such as his Senate campaign s pledge not to accept financial contributions from PACs political action committees 50 Business After graduation O Rourke worked as a live in caretaker and art mover before working for an Internet service provider run by his uncle 43 51 He later took a position at H W Wilson Company as a proofreader and wrote short stories and songs in his free time 35 43 O Rourke returned to El Paso in 1998 52 At first he was working with computers as an inventory tracker at his mother s upscale furniture store and living in an apartment building owned by his father 21 O Rourke said he wanted to address brain drain or the exodus of youth caused by lack of opportunity 43 53 In 2000 he co founded Stanton Street Technology Group an Internet services and software company 51 failed verification With O Rourke himself unable to obtain a loan his father took out a 20 000 loan on his behalf citation needed O Rourke s wife Amy operated the business until June 2017 54 55 For a few years the company also published an online newspaper also called Stanton Street the paper was a mix of arts and entertainment reviews restaurant reviews and opinion columns that O Rourke modeled on alternative periodicals like The Village Voice and New York Press 43 The company made a co marketing agreement with local TV station KTSM TV allowing StantonStreet Com and the station s Internet site to share content and TV ads 56 KTSM s then news director Eric Pearson was O Rourke s brother in law 57 O Rourke was involved with El Paso civic organizations and nonprofit groups such as the Rotary Club United Way and Center Against Sexual and Family Violence He was a member of the boards of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Institute for Policy and Economic Development at UTEP 58 Politics During his childhood O Rourke accompanied his father Pat at campaign stops and other political events While Pat was charismatic and outgoing his son was more reserved Pat would nudge Beto suggesting he introduce himself to someone O Rourke recalled I was an awkward and shy kid so it was the last thing I wanted to do but now I can look back and bless my experience in it 59 Interestingly his father was involved politically in El Paso growing up and Beto would go to events but I never saw Beto engaged with that arena his mother recalled 60 O Rourke cites his work on his magazine not boyhood exposure to politics as the reason behind his initial political ideas and ambitions 53 O Rourke was inspired by the successful 2001 mayoral run of Ray Caballero whose platform promoted the idea that El Paso was great When Caballero failed to get re elected O Rourke considered running for office 43 El Paso City Council 2005 2012 See also Electoral history of Beto O Rourke In mid 2005 O Rourke ran for the El Paso City Council on a platform of downtown development and border reform 61 O Rourke defeated two term incumbent City Councilman Anthony Cobos 57 43 62 63 Byrd and Ortega were also elected along with O Rourke they came to be referred to as The Progressives 43 O Rourke is one of the youngest representatives ever to have served on the City Council 64 In 2007 he won re election to a second term defeating Trini Acevedo 70 30 65 66 On June 14 2005 at his first city council meeting O Rourke was chosen as mayor pro tem by unanimous vote 67 The mayor pro tem represents the city at meetings and ceremonial occasions when the mayor is unavailable presides over City Council in the mayor s absence appoints council members to legislative review committees and generally works in concert with the mayor in a leadership capacity On June 20 2006 he relinquished the position saying I said I would take it on condition that someone else would it in a year I hope it becomes a new tradition that every year a new mayor pro tem is elected 68 O Rourke was a supporter of a redevelopment plan for a depressed area of El Paso s business district with a high vacancy rate which was also supported by Mayor John Cook and fellow City Councilwoman Susie Byrd 69 The initiative faced opposition from a small group of small businesses and Chicano activists who expressed concern about gentrification and the potential use of eminent domain O Rourke responded with an on foot campaign to residents of the neighborhood and was met with support as well as some cynicism 43 An activist initiated a recall campaign against O Rourke which O Rourke won and a few downtown property owners filed two ethics complaints against him the complaints were dismissed as unfounded 43 Ultimately owing to the start of the Great Recession in the United States the redevelopment plans were only partially realized 43 70 71 In January 2009 O Rourke sponsored a resolution calling for comprehensive examination of the War on Drugs and the repeal of ineffective marijuana laws The resolution unanimously supported by his colleagues on the El Paso City Council was vetoed by Mayor John Cook 72 73 O Rourke told reporters the reason he spoke up about the War on Drugs was the thousands of people who had been killed in the nearby city of Ciudad Juarez Chihuahua Mexico 74 75 He said I hope it has all had its intended effect of starting the national discussion of the wisdom of the War on Drugs and probably more importantly helping to bring about a better solution than the status quo which has led to the terror and tragedy in Juarez 76 U S House of Representatives 2013 2019 Elections 2012 Main article 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 In 2012 O Rourke filed for the Democratic primary against the eight term Silvestre Reyes to represent Texas s 16th congressional district The primary was seen as the real contest in the heavily Democratic Latino majority district 38 Byrd ran O Rourke s field operation and Escobar was head of communication 43 O Rourke won 50 5 percent of the vote just a few hundred votes above the threshold required to avoid a runoff against Reyes 77 He was contrasted with Reyes in his support for LGBT rights and drug liberalization 78 79 His campaign was largely on foot and he reportedly knocked on 16 000 doors 43 He defeated his Republican opponent Barbara Carrasco in the general election with 65 percent of the vote 80 Upon O Rourke s election the district was no longer represented in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus a 26 member group established in 1976 because he lacks Hispanic heritage 81 As the district was 80 percent Hispanic with 77 6 percent of Hispanics being of voting age some officials including David Austin the El Paso based border representative for the U S Mexico Border Counties Coalition argued that he should be permitted to join For his part O Rourke said he respected the caucus s bylaws 81 As a Congressman he held at least one town hall meeting every month 43 In March 2013 O Rourke and Republican Steve Pearce of New Mexico introduced the Border Enforcement Accountability Oversight and Community Engagement Act legislation proposed to establish an ombudsman within the Department of Homeland Security that would investigate allegations of violence and civil rights violations by the U S Customs and Border Protection create a commission that would overview the agency s policies and provide insight on how to spend its 18 billion annual budget increase the training required for officers and agents and establish protocols under which the CBP would be required to report deaths at the border or agents use of force 82 He co sponsored the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act which was enacted in 2014 Notably Section 506 allowed the CBP to enter into public private partnerships with local entities to help fund overtime pay to customs officers at ports of entry which helped fund the personnel to lower wait times at the border El Paso was one of five cities chosen to participate in the program 83 2014 Main article 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 During his bid for re election in the fall of 2014 O Rourke donated at least 28 000 from his own campaign funds to fellow Democratic candidates for House seats 84 O Rourke was re elected in 2014 with 67 percent of the vote In November 2014 O Rourke opposed Obama s deferred action policy that used an executive action to bypass Congress in order to spare approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation saying the motive is noble but the means are really hard to stomach 85 O Rourke was one of six members of Congress who took a six day trip to Israel that included meetings with Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators political leaders and residents 86 O Rourke s previous decisions to vote against U S funding for Israel s Iron Dome missile defense system and not attend Israel s prime minister s address to Congress had been controversial the bill was easily passed in the House with a 395 8 vote 86 While saying he was not against funding the project he was reluctant to support sending 225 million to Israel without any debate or discussion and said that the US s policy of unequivocal support at times has been damaging to Israel 86 2016 Main article 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 In June 2016 87 O Rourke endorsed Hillary Clinton for President being one of the last Democratic congressmen to support her during the primary 88 As a sitting member of Congress O Rourke was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention 87 In October 2015 O Rourke announced his bid for a third term in 2016 89 He won the Democratic primary and defeated his Green and Libertarian opponents in the general election 90 When Nancy Pelosi faced a leadership challenge from Rep Tim Ryan of Ohio O Rourke backed Ryan 91 O Rourke said that he believed in term limits and therefore that it was time for new leadership 91 He had given himself a term limit in the House and promised not to serve any more than 12 years in the Senate if elected 88 In 2017 the congressman along with Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Eric Swalwell of California sponsored the American Families United Act which promoted the idea that US citizens have the right to sponsor their spouses for legal immigration 92 O Rourke gave up his congressional seat to run for Senate in 2018 93 Committee assignments Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and InvestigationsCaucus memberships New Democrat Coalition 94 Congressional Arts Caucus 95 2018 U S Senate campaignMain article 2018 United States Senate election in Texas nbsp Final results by county in 2018 Ted Cruz gt 90 80 90 70 80 60 70 50 60 Beto O Rourke 70 80 60 70 50 60 40 50 As O Rourke was considering entering the 2018 U S Senate race in Texas political experts considered him a longshot candidate 96 Ben Terris of The Washington Post said he was suffering from a bug causing mass delusions that the old rules of politics no longer apply He asked Can a Democrat really win in this deeply red state against Cruz who will be running one of the best financed campaigns in the country And can he do so on a positive message about Mexicans in an era when calling them rapists helped make a man president 61 No Democrat had been elected to statewide office in Texas since 1994 43 On March 31 2017 O Rourke formally announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat held by incumbent Republican Ted Cruz 97 In March 2018 O Rourke became the Democratic Party nominee winning 61 8 percent of the primary vote 98 O Rourke campaigned in all of Texas s 254 counties 99 He said he planned to run a positive campaign not focused on Donald Trump or Ted Cruz 100 nbsp Beto O Rourke during a rally in Austin Texas November 2018O Rourke s campaign received significant national attention for its ability to draw large crowds and extensive use of social media 101 102 He ran his campaign without professional pollsters or consultants and relied on volunteers with no experience running a political campaign 100 His campaign employed the use of mass text messages 103 According to the 2018 third quarter report from the FEC his campaign spent US 7 3 million on digital advertising alone in contrast with Cruz s 251 000 104 His first ad was filmed on an iPhone 104 O Rourke often highlighted his days as a rock musician with Foss in interviews 105 By March 2018 Dan Solomon of Texas Monthly remarked that O Rourke seemingly can t escape a single profile without the words punk rock Democrat appearing in the headline 106 Political observers and journalists felt that O Rourke s punk past became an important element of his image and political outlook 107 108 109 In an op ed for The New York Times Mimi Swartz expressed her belief that O Rourke s former membership in a punk band had likely boosted his appeal with millennials 110 O Rourke posted to social media daily including Instagram Twitter and Facebook and livestreamed his activities traveling the state such as skateboarding in a Whataburger parking lot washing clothes at a laundromat and blockwalking in his constituents neighborhoods 102 He encouraged supporters to post selfies they had taken with him to social media 102 Some of his videos went viral including his position on NFL players taking a knee and police brutality against unarmed black men 111 112 Supporters said O Rourke s promise of compassion more than any specific policy position drew their support 113 Funding O Rourke pledged not to accept PAC contributions for his Senate campaign He raised 2 million within the first three months mostly from small donations 114 115 During the campaign PolitiFact rated his claim of not taking PAC money as true 116 He received his first major organizational endorsement from End Citizens United in June 2017 117 which found that he had raised triple the funds of Cruz without accepting corporate special interest money 118 In the second quarter of 2018 he raised 10 4 million to Cruz s 4 6 million with each candidate having raised 23 million by September 1 113 O Rourke raised more than 38 million in the third quarter three times Cruz s totals for the same period 101 It is the most raised in a U S Senate race in history 101 According to his campaign the donations came from 802 836 individual contributions mostly from Texas 101 When asked if he would share the funds with Democrats in other races he declined saying that he wanted to honor the commitment that those who ve contributed to this campaign have made to me 119 O Rourke raised 80 million for the campaign which was the highest amount ever raised by a U S Senate candidate 120 Debates nbsp O Rourke s senatorial campaign in Austin Texas November 2018The first of three scheduled debates between O Rourke and Ted Cruz took place on September 21 2018 The candidates disagreed on gun rights immigration marijuana the take a knee controversy and the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh At the end of the debate the moderator asked the candidates to say something nice about each other O Rourke praised Cruz s parenting Cruz compared O Rourke to Bernie Sanders saying he admired his willingness to stand up for socialist beliefs and high taxes O Rourke replied True to form 121 122 Analysts described Cruz as more experienced and aggressive but said O Rourke won over the crowd 123 124 Cruz declined to participate in the third town hall style debate for CNN held on October 18 2018 in McAllen Texas O Rourke agreed to attend the town hall meeting alone 125 During the meeting O Rourke said he did not see himself running for President because he has young children He said he regretted calling Ted Cruz Lyin Ted a nickname given to Cruz by Donald Trump He confirmed that he would vote to impeach and indict Trump He defended his Spanish nickname against accusations of cultural appropriation 126 127 Endorsements nbsp O Rourke senatorial campaign logoO Rourke s Senate bid was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle 128 the Dallas Morning News 129 and the Fort Worth Star Telegram 130 Singer and activist Willie Nelson endorsed O Rourke and held a rally for him on September 29 in Austin Texas Nelson said Beto embodies what is special about Texas an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine 131 At the end of the rally Nelson debuted his new election inspired song Vote Em Out 132 Other celebrity endorsements included Beyonce 133 Khalid Aaron Jones Eva Longoria LeBron James Jim Carrey Travis Scott Ellen DeGeneres Lin Manuel Miranda and Kelly Rowland 134 Polls and news coverage On September 18 2018 a Quinnipiac poll based on phone interviews put Cruz nine points ahead of O Rourke among likely voters but a September 19 Ipsos online poll done in conjunction with Reuters and the University of Virginia showed O Rourke leading Cruz by two points 135 Going into the third debate on October 18 2018 a CNN poll conducted by SSRS showed Cruz leading the campaign 52 percent to 45 percent among likely voters 126 The media made comparisons between O Rourke s Senate campaign and Obama s 2008 campaign for President drawing parallels between their charismatic speaking styles optimistic tones and the nationwide attention their campaigns generated 136 137 138 Peter Hamby of Vanity Fair compared the energy at O Rourke s rallies to the energy at Obama s rallies in 2007 138 Results On November 6 2018 Cruz defeated O Rourke 139 140 141 50 9 48 3 142 Despite his loss O Rourke was credited for the election of several down ticket candidates of the Democratic Party which some called the Beto Effect 143 For example Republicans lost control of the Texas Third and Fifth Courts of Appeals in the 2018 elections 144 Of 150 state House seats 12 formerly Republican seats were taken by Democrats as well as two of the state s 31 state Senate seats 145 O Rourke received over four million votes compared to Hillary Clinton who received only 3 9 million votes in the 2016 presidential election in Texas and David Alameel the Democratic nominee in the 2014 Texas Senate race who received only 1 6 million votes 145 O Rourke set a record for most votes ever cast for a Democrat in Texas history 146 2020 presidential campaign nbsp O Rourke presidential campaign logo nbsp O Rourke at a presidential campaign event in April 2019Main article Beto O Rourke 2020 presidential campaign In late 2018 speculation began that O Rourke might run in the United States presidential election in 2020 147 Prior to the midterm elections The New Republic said O Rourke s Senate campaign was the beginning of a bid for the presidency despite calling it journalistic hedging or a justification for the media extensively covering a candidate who was expected to lose his race 137 148 Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said he has name recognition a widely successful fundraising operation a young fresh face with a sprinkling of woke a cool persona a new perspective he speaks Spanish and would be an exciting and upbeat candidate 149 The possibility of an O Rourke candidacy made some Democratic party donors hesitant to commit to other candidates 150 On March 13 El Paso TV station KTSM TV reported that O Rourke had decided to run for President in 2020 151 O Rourke confirmed speculation the following day by announcing that he was entering the presidential race 152 153 According to Politico during his presidential race O Rourke presented his 2018 loss to Cruz as a prominent selling point 154 O Rourke announced the end of his campaign for president on November 1 2019 155 156 He endorsed Joe Biden at a rally in Dallas Texas on March 2 2020 one day before Super Tuesday 157 2019 2021 activities nbsp Logo for Powered by People the political action committee O Rourke launched in December 2019In December 2019 O Rourke founded the political action committee Powered by People The group is a hybrid PAC which works like a super PAC and a traditional PAC 158 After his 2020 presidential campaign ended O Rourke campaigned for Texas House of Representatives candidates such as Eliz Markowitz Sima Ladjevardian and Lorraine Birabil 159 160 During the multiple crises that Texas faced as a result of the February 13 17 2021 North American winter storm O Rourke organized virtual phone banks to perform wellness calls and offer assistance to senior citizens He claimed that the volunteers he had organized had made 784 000 phone calls in a single day on February 18 2021 161 162 2022 Texas gubernatorial electionSee also 2022 Texas gubernatorial election nbsp O Rourke campaigning in Wichita Falls TexasO Rourke announced his bid for Governor of Texas in the 2022 gubernatorial election on November 15 2021 He is challenging incumbent Republican Greg Abbott During his announcement video O Rourke called the 2021 Texas power crisis a symptom of a much larger problem 163 On March 1 2022 O Rourke won the Democratic nomination for governor The Associated Press reported that O Rourke had no serious primary competition 8 Given Texas s Republican lean polls showed O Rourke as the underdog in the race against Abbott 164 In the general election O Rourke was defeated by Abbott earning 43 8 of the vote to the latter s 54 9 165 Political positions nbsp O Rourke rally at Los Angeles Trade Technical CollegePolitical analysts classify O Rourke as a progressive liberal neoliberal or centrist 166 167 168 169 170 During his time in Congress O Rourke was a member of the New Democrat Coalition a Third Way pro business caucus 171 172 94 The National Journal rates him 93 liberal and 7 conservative 173 Describing himself O Rourke has said that he does not know where he falls on the political spectrum He has sponsored bipartisan bills as well as broken with his party on issues like trade 174 GovTrack placed O Rourke near the ideological center of the Democratic Party American for Democratic action gave him a liberal rating of 90 percent while the American Conservative Union gave him an 8 conservative rating 175 According to FiveThirtyEight which tracks congressional voting records O Rourke voted in line with Donald Trump 30 1 percent of the time during the 115th Congress 176 Bipartisanship Allegheny College bestowed the 2018 Prize for Civility in Public Life to O Rourke together with Will Hurd a Texas Republican 177 In March 2017 facing snowstorm induced flight cancellations O Rourke and Hurd both stuck in San Antonio needed to get back to Washington for a House vote They rented a car and embarked on a 1 600 mi 2 600 km drive that they captured on Facebook Live 178 179 180 O Rourke and Hurd have worked collaboratively on legislation since the road trip 181 Business O Rourke supports stronger antitrust laws to break up monopolies which he believes stifle competition and innovation He promotes industry and business regulations meant to promote competition help the economy to grow and protect consumers He believes We must connect those out of work with the high value jobs being created right here in Texas by investing in the training certification and apprenticeship programs that make it possible 182 He has received high scores from labor unions with lifetime and yearly position scores of 90 100 percent from the AFL CIO and a 95 percent lifetime score from AFSCME 183 Crime In an essay he wrote for Houston Chronicle he repeated a common refrain of his campaign 184 that Harris County Jail is the largest provider of mental health services in our state and quoted the statistic that the jail has more people receiving psychiatric treatment every day than the nine state mental hospitals in Texas combined 185 He proposed that politicians work to eliminate private for profit prisons end the war on drugs stop using mandatory minimum sentencing for non violent drug offenses end cash bail that disproportionately affects those unable to pay bail with longer jail sentences 186 and provide reentry programs to reduce recidivism for non violent criminals 185 Drugs O Rourke favors the legalization of cannabis 187 In 2011 O Rourke co authored a book Dealing Death and Drugs The Big Business of Dope in the U S and Mexico which in part argues for an end to the prohibition of marijuana to reduce drug related violence and undermine the finances of the Mexican drug cartels 188 189 He has called for the arrest records of individuals sentenced for possession of small amounts of cannabis to be expunged 186 During the 2018 Senate campaign O Rourke s opponent Ted Cruz claimed that O Rourke sought to legalize heroin in 2009 when O Rourke was an El Paso city council member he called for honest open national debate on ending the prohibition on narcotics 186 Education O Rourke favors increasing federal aid to public schools in low income communities He believes that teachers and local education officials should have more autonomy in setting classroom standards while reducing the current emphasis on arbitrary high stakes tests 182 During his 2020 presidential election campaign O Rourke released a 500 billion education plan committed to closing funding gaps and creating incentives for states and districts to guarantee fair funding for public schools and pay teachers professional wages 190 Additionally during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign in Texas O Rourke supported increasing teacher s salaries and funding to public schools He also opposed school vouchers claiming that voucher systems lead to money flowing to private schools instead of public schools Further he advocated that public schools should receive funding based on student enrollment figures instead of attendance figures arguing that the current attendance based system deprives public schools of funding to educate the estimated 260 000 Texas public school students who do not attend school regularly O Rourke said he would focus less on cultural issues in education like critical race theory and transgender children in sports key issues for some conservative politicians and focus more on educational outcomes such as reading graduation and college preparedness 191 Environment While attending Woodberry Forest School O Rourke along with a circle of friends founded an environmental group called the Terra Interest Society 34 Before he was elected to city council he joined neighborhood and community efforts to stop the re permitting of the local ASARCO copper smelter and once he was on the city council he made several efforts to ensure that the copper smelter did not re open 192 193 O Rourke supports efforts to combat global warming He has advocated putting a price on carbon emissions and wants to substantially increase the use of renewable energy He has been a vocal critic of the Trump Administration s elimination of greenhouse gas regulations and the shrinking of the budget for environmental projects 194 In 2012 O Rourke stated that in tackling climate change and the greatest environmental threat we have ever faced we need to take unprecedented action in building a foundation for a clean energy economy He added Educating our fellow Americans about this threat to our quality of life is important to our success and I will do all I can to make this issue a top priority in Congress 195 O Rourke has introduced legislation to establish a national monument at Castner Range near El Paso and successfully included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act to protect the area which includes a historic military training facility 194 O Rourke s holds a lifetime voting record of 95 percent and a 2017 score of 100 percent with the League of Conservation Voters national environmental ranking 196 better source needed Foreign policy nbsp O Rourke at the Inter American Dialogue conference in 2016O Rourke criticized Israel s actions during the 2014 Israel Gaza conflict and voted against funding Israel s Iron Dome missile defense system 197 198 O Rourke denounced the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem as provocative He supports a two state solution and believes that the U S could best support a peaceful settlement by urging Israel to discontinue Israeli settlements in the West Bank and assist the Palestinian Authority to negotiate in good faith and recognize Israel s right to exist 199 O Rourke criticized Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following his comments about annexing the settlements in the occupied West Bank after the 2019 Israeli election calling him a racist 200 In April 2019 he called the U S Israel relationship one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet 201 O Rourke criticized Saudi Arabia s human rights abuses and the intervention it leads in support of the government of Yemen against the Houthis 202 In 2016 O Rourke voted against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act which allows relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its government s alleged role in the attacks 202 In October 2018 after President Trump indicated the U S would not sanction Saudi Arabia over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi O Rourke stated Saudi Arabia must be held accountable We must stop rewarding their bad behavior whether it s what they ve just done in the murder of a journalist or their export of those who are spreading a hateful ideology or their indiscriminately bombing civilians in Yemen 202 O Rourke supported the Iran nuclear deal regarding Iran s development of weapons of mass destruction 203 In August 2017 O Rourke criticized Trump s hard line stance towards North Korea saying that We must not allow this president to sleepwalk this country or tweet this country into war with North Korea 204 In March 2019 O Rourke called for ending the U S led Iraq War and War in Afghanistan 205 O Rourke opposed the U S involvement in the Syrian Civil War and providing arms to the rebel fighters in Syria He also criticized the NATO led military intervention in Libya a factor in the destabilization of the Middle East and the rise of ISIS 206 O Rourke supported legislation to curtail NSA s broad and unwarranted surveillance of U S and foreign citizens 206 In July 2018 O Rourke said that Trump s performance while attending the 2018 Russia United States summit in Helsinki warranted impeachment 207 Addressing the Trump Putin joint press conference of July 16 he said standing on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country and to side with him over the United States if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president 208 On March 23 2019 O Rourke accused President Trump of collusion with Russia to undermine and influence U S elections 209 In March 2019 O Rourke said regarding the China United States trade war that President Trump had a legitimate cause and We want him to be successful in this but as I was reminded by a fellow Iowan when have we ever gone to war including a trade war without allies 210 In an interview with ABC O Rourke suggested that the United States address the migrant caravan by investing in stability in countries where the migrants originate countries in the Northern Triangle of Central America 211 O Rourke said that U S involvement in Central America has not been a very positive one over the last 60 years You can go back to the coup in Guatemala that overthrew Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 fully backed by the Eisenhower administration and the Dulles brothers who had an interest in the United Fruit company whose fight with the government really precipitated the crisis that led to the coup 212 Guns On the evening of June 22 2016 O Rourke participated in the sit in in the House of Representatives that attempted to force a vote on gun control legislation When the Republicans ordered C SPAN to turn off its normal coverage of the chamber O Rourke and Representative Scott Peters transmitted images by cell phone to social media for C SPAN to broadcast 213 On March 7 2018 O Rourke told Alisyn Camerota of CNN We have a great tradition and culture of gun ownership and gun safety for hunting for sport for self defense I think that can allow Texas to take the lead on a really tough issue which the country is waiting for leadership and action on 214 He supports universal background checks for all firearm purchases 215 After the 2019 El Paso shooting he called for a complete ban on the sale and possession of assault rifles and high capacity magazines as well as suggesting a mandatory buy back program may be considered gun confiscation to remove existing weapons and magazines 216 217 218 219 On September 2 2019 O Rourke tweeted I was asked how I d address people s fears that we will take away their assault rifles I want to be clear That s exactly what we re going to do Americans who own AR 15s and AK 47s will have to sell their assault weapons to the government All of them 220 During a live televised interview on October 16 2019 MSNBC cable news show host Joe Scarborough asked O Rourke how he as president would respond to non compliance from those gun owners who regard such a mandatory program as an unjust law and unconstitutional O Rourke replied There have to be consequences or else there is no respect for the law In that case I think there would be a visit by law enforcement to recover sic that firearm and to make sure that it is purchased 221 In a September 19 2019 Democratic presidential debate O Rourke again called for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons he said Hell yes we re going to take your AR 15 your AK 47 222 223 224 O Rourke acknowledged that his position had shifted from the stance he had taken on assault weapons during his 2018 U S Senate bid Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware lamented on CNN that O Rourke s stance could haunt Democrats because that clip will be played for years at Second Amendment rallies with organizations that try to scare people by saying Democrats are coming for your guns 217 On May 25 2022 O Rourke confronted Texas Governor Greg Abbott during a press conference about the Robb Elementary School shooting that had occurred the day before 225 He said to the governor You are doing nothing You are offering up nothing You said this was not predictable This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything The confrontation received a mixed response from the crowd with some booing O Rourke and others cheering him on 226 Senator Ted Cruz told O Rourke to sit down and Uvalde Mayor Don MacLaughlin shouted I can t believe you re a sick son of a bitch that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue O Rourke left the room accompanied by security guards and continued his remarks outside the building criticizing Governor Abbott for not funding mental health services and for opposing gun regulations 227 The New York Times described the confrontation as a political gamble that received criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats 228 Immigration O Rourke favors comprehensive immigration reform 229 230 As early as 2012 he asserted that his experience living on the border gave him a strong understanding of immigration s impact on our community calling El Paso an Ellis Island to Latin America for more than 150 years and spoke against militarizing the border 231 O Rourke opposed Trump s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals DACA which granted temporary stay to some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as minors 232 233 O Rourke said it is a top priority to protect DREAMers 232 In October 2016 he gave a TEDx talk titled The Border Makes America Great about his views on immigration 234 He has criticized President Donald Trump s rhetoric on immigration saying Trump is constantly stoking anxiety and fear about Mexicans immigrants and the border with Mexico Unfortunately this President takes another step into a dark world of fear isolation and separation 19 235 In June 2018 O Rourke led protests in Tornillo Texas against the Trump administration family separation policy which involved the separation of children of immigrant families The city is located just miles from the Rio Grande the river that creates the border of the United States and Mexico in the state of Texas 236 The Trump administration had created a tent city in Tornillo where separated children were being held without their parents O Rourke called this practice Un American and the responsibility of all Americans 237 238 O Rourke stated that leading the march was a religious experience I happen to have been raised Catholic and what I take away from my religion is you do your best to love everyone to be good to everyone 239 In April 2019 O Rourke publicly compared rhetoric used by Trump to describe immigrants to language from Nazi Germany 240 Ted Cruz asserted in 2018 that O Rourke wanted open borders and wants to take our guns 241 PolitiFact found that Cruz s claims were false noting that O Rourke had not called for opening the borders or for government agents to take guns from law abiding residents 241 Subsequently in an interview in February 2019 O Rourke indicated he would tear down the wall between El Paso and the southern US border since he feels that the fencing has forced migrants to the most inhospitable areas of the southern border ensuring their suffering and death 242 In a televised September 2019 presidential debate O Rourke expressed support for mandatory government gun buyback programs 243 Religious liberty In October 2019 during his presidential campaign O Rourke proposed to remove the tax exempt status of religious organizations that oppose same sex marriage 244 At CNN s Equality Town Hall O Rourke asserted that there can be no reward no benefit no tax break for anyone or any institution any organization in America that denies the full human rights and the full civil rights of every single one of us O Rourke s press secretary later clarified that he was referring to religious institutions who take discriminatory action 245 O Rourke s comment infuriated a swath of religious and conservative leaders 246 Then presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg who is gay voiced disagreement and criticism of O Rourke s stance 247 Social issues O Rourke voted against the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act 248 As a gubernatorial candidate O Rourke claims he would attempt to repeal Texas laws restricting abortion bans if he was elected governor 249 O Rourke told the Dallas Voice that he called marriage equality a core civil rights issue during his House primary campaign While on the El Paso City Council O Rourke led a successful fight to overturn the domestic partnership ban 78 He was a co sponsor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013 H R 3135 250 Whilst previously having supported Medicare for All during the 2018 US Senate race O Rourke backtracked during the 2020 presidential primary instead supporting a proposal he called Medicare for America This alternative would allow all citizens on an employment based health insurance to keep that insurance if they wanted to but it would move all uninsured Medicaid covered and newborn citizens to Medicare immediately 251 252 He supports stabilization of the insurance markets to improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act He also supports the expansion of Medicaid and is a co sponsor of the Medicare X Choice Act of 2017 253 254 255 O Rourke has spoken out against racial inequality He supports the football players who have taken part in the Take a knee protests Speaking in a video that went viral O Rourke said he believes there is nothing more American than to peacefully stand up or take a knee for your rights anytime anywhere or any place 256 He has also asserted that while he was given second chances after being arrested twice in his younger years those chances are often denied to too many of our fellow Texans particularly those who don t look like me or have access to the same opportunities that I did 185 In September 2018 Cruz posted to Twitter a video of O Rourke in a Dallas church largely attended by African Americans speaking out against the killing of Bothem Shem Jean an unarmed black man in his own home by an off duty police officer 112 In the video the crowd gave the speech a standing ovation and the video served to bolster O Rourke s standing nationally going viral and receiving wide praise 257 Veterans O Rourke held monthly veterans town hall meetings throughout his term in Congress 258 After hearing about long wait times especially regarding mental health he carried out his own local survey of veterans which showed wait times far exceeding what the VA was reporting In an attempt to better meet veterans needs O Rourke and others worked to establish a new program at the El Paso VA designed to care for military related health issues within the hospital while using community clinics or medical facilities in the area for more standard medical needs 259 O Rourke co sponsored the bipartisan bill H R 1604 the Veterans Mental Health Care Access Act with Republican Congressmen Tom MacArthur which expanded options for veterans seeking mental health care to non VA facilities 260 261 O Rourke serves on both the House Veterans Affairs Committee 262 and the House Armed Services Committee which oversees military installations such as Fort Bliss headquartered in El Paso 263 In September 2016 three bills that were attached as amendments to H R 5620 or the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 were approved unanimously with bipartisan support in the House The first the Vet Connect Act of 2016 H R 5162 would allow a veteran s entire medical record to be shared with a community provider without explicit written consent with a pilot of the program then being tried in El Paso The Ask Veterans Act H R 1319 would have a non government contractor conduct an annual survey on behalf of the secretary of Veterans Affairs in order to determine veterans experiences with hospital care and medical services at VA facilities the results of which would be publicly accessible O Rourke developed this idea from feedback from veterans at town hall meetings The Get Vets a Doc Now Act H R 5501 would allow the VA to provide conditional job offers to resident doctors two years before the completion of their programs in an effort to recruit doctors to fill the shortage of 43 000 clinicians 264 Personal life nbsp O Rourke with his wife and children 2019On July 3 2001 O Rourke s father a longtime cycling enthusiast died while riding his bicycle along the shoulder of Pete Domenici Highway just outside the city limits of El Paso and across the New Mexico state line when he was struck from behind by a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am throwing him 70 feet 21 m and causing severe head injuries he was pronounced dead at the scene O Rourke delivered the eulogy during the funeral service at St Patrick s Cathedral in El Paso 19 265 266 267 O Rourke married Amy Hoover Sanders the daughter of Louann and Bill Sanders at her parents ranch in Lamy New Mexico near Santa Fe on September 24 2005 36 268 Bill Sanders is a real estate developer who previously dated O Rourke s mother and introduced her to O Rourke s father 269 The couple and their three children live in El Paso s Sunset Heights in the Henry Trost designed mission style house where General Hugh Scott and Pancho Villa reportedly met in 1915 20 43 270 On December 20 2022 O Rourke s sister Erin died at the age of 42 she suffered from intellectual disabilities and O Rourke had been her legal guardian at one time 271 O Rourke is a lifelong Roman Catholic but has publicly expressed disagreement with Church doctrine including its refusal to solemnize same sex marriages 78 272 Legal issues On May 19 1995 O Rourke and his friends jumped over a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso UTEP physical plant and were arrested by the UTEP police He was held in jail overnight and posted bail the following day He was initially charged with attempted burglary but prosecutors dropped the case against O Rourke and his friends in February 1996 when UTEP declined to pursue the charges 273 O Rourke was arrested for driving while intoxicated on September 27 1998 at 3 00 a m on Interstate 10 in Anthony Texas O Rourke had lost control of his car and hit another vehicle The charges were dismissed in October 1999 after he completed a court approved DWI program 37 274 In response to criticism from a political opponent in 2005 O Rourke said I ve been open about it since the very beginning I have owned up to it and I have taken responsibility for it 273 He apologized and said he was grateful for the second chance 275 Electoral history2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 Party Candidate Votes Democratic Beto O Rourke 101 403 65 42Republican Barbara Carrasco 51 043 32 93Libertarian Junart Sodoy 2 559 1 65Total votes 155 005 100 00Democratic hold2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 Party Candidate Votes Democratic Beto O Rourke incumbent 49 338 67 49Republican Corey Roen 21 324 29 17Libertarian Jaime Perez 2 443 3 34Total votes 73 105 100 00Democratic hold2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas District 16 Party Candidate Votes Democratic Beto O Rourke incumbent 150 228 85 73Libertarian Jaime Perez 17 491 9 98Green Mary Gourdoux 7 510 4 29Total votes 175 229 100 00Democratic holdUnited States Senate election in Texas 2018 276 Party Candidate Votes Republican Ted Cruz incumbent 4 260 553 50 89 5 57 Democratic Beto O Rourke 4 045 632 48 33 7 71 Libertarian Neal Dikeman 65 470 0 78 1 28 Total votes 8 371 655 100 N ARepublican hold2022 Texas gubernatorial election 277 Party Candidate Votes Republican Greg Abbott incumbent 4 437 099 54 76 1 05 Democratic Beto O Rourke 3 553 656 43 86 1 35 Libertarian Mark Tippetts 81 932 1 01 0 68 Green Delilah Barrios 28 584 0 35 N ATotal votes 8 102 908 100 00 N ATurnout 8 102 908 45 85 Registered electors 17 672 143Republican holdWorksO Rourke Beto and Byrd Susie 2011 Dealing Death and Drugs The Big Business of Dope in the U S and Mexico Cinco Puntos Press ISBN 1933693940 See alsoElectoral history of Beto O RourkeNotes In Texas the position of county judge is a county s elected chief executive officer not a judicial role References Ted Cruz defeats Beto O Rourke in difficult re election fight The Texas Tribune November 6 2018 Retrieved May 24 2021 Burns Alexander November 1 2019 Beto O Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved January 16 2022 Siders David March 2 2022 The establishment strikes back 5 takeaways from the Texas primary Politico Retrieved June 17 2022 a b Beto O Rourke D Texas The Washington Post December 25 2012 Archived from the original on March 24 2018 Retrieved October 20 2018 Burns Alexander November 1 2019 Beto O Rourke Is Dropping Out of the Presidential Race The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved November 1 2019 Beto O Rourke launches 2022 bid for Texas governor www cbsnews com November 15 2021 Retrieved November 15 2021 Exclusive Beto O Rourke is Running for Governor November 15 2021 a b Democrats nominate Beto O Rourke to run for Texas governor Associated Press March 1 2022 Retrieved March 2 2022 Texas Gov Greg Abbott easily wins re election beating Democratic challenger Beto O Rourke NBC News projects NBC News November 9 2022 Retrieved November 9 2022 Robert Francis Orourke 26 Sep 1972 from Texas Birth Index 1903 1997 FamilySearch Texas Department of State Health Services December 5 2014 Retrieved November 19 2018 Births El Paso Times September 27 1972 Retrieved September 22 2018 Hotel Dieu Tuesday Mr and Mrs Pat F O Rourke 229 Fountain boy Draper Robert November 15 2014 Texas 3 Ways The New York Times Retrieved April 17 2019 Beto O Rourke whose family came over from Ireland four generations ago to work on the railroad Texan with Leitrim roots sets sights on the White House Leitrim Observer March 21 2019 Retrieved April 2 2019 Tracey Michael March 28 2019 US presidential hopeful has roots in Milford The Carlow Nationalist Retrieved April 2 2019 Naturalization Records 1816 1955 Missouri Digital Heritage Missouri Secretary of State October 3 1868 Retrieved November 5 2018 Buchanan County Circuit Court Final Certificate of Naturalization O Rourke Bernard 12 13 14 15 Tilove Jonathan March 9 2018 So he changed his name to Beto and hid it with a grin On the deeper purposes of the Cruz jingle First Reading Austin American Statesman Archived from the original on November 3 2018 Retrieved November 3 2018 Stanton John October 14 2014 Juarez s Biggest Booster Is An Irish American Congressman BuzzFeed News Retrieved June 24 2016 a b c Lambrecht Bill March 15 2017 Border congressman on verge of U S Senate run San Antonio Express News Retrieved April 9 2019 a b Viser Matt July 26 2018 Why So Many People Are Betting on Beto O Rourke Town amp Country Retrieved October 17 2018 a b Garrett Robert T September 28 2018 Rising star Beto O Rourke has eclipsed dad s El Paso ambitions but friends say he s still Pat s boy The Dallas Morning News Archived from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved April 9 2019 Scharrer Gary December 12 1984 Jackson wants action against apartheid El Paso Times Retrieved April 15 2019 a b Davis Mary Margaret December 7 1985 English manor aura surrounds home El Paso Times Retrieved November 19 2018 In the middle of Kern Place County Judge Pat O Rourke wife Melissa and their three children are surrounded by what is the United States current favorite decor the British country look Stuart Tessa August 30 2018 Beto O Rourke Shares the Story of His Old Band Foss and a Single Rolling Stone Archived from the original on October 3 2018 Retrieved February 7 2019 Cush Andy October 4 2017 A Chat With Beto O Rourke the Ex Punk Bassist Running for Ted Cruz s Senate Seat Spin Archived from the original on November 30 2018 Retrieved February 7 2019 a b Hooks Christopher October 3 2017 Beto Testing The Texas Observer Archived from the original on February 4 2019 Retrieved February 8 2019 a b c Tilove Jonathan June 6 2019 Why being part of the Cult of the Dead Cow could make Beto O Rourke a better president Austin American Statesman Retrieved June 8 2019 a b What Tech Giants Can Learn From Hackers Ethical Lessons in Cybersecurity Council on Foreign Relations June 3 2019 Retrieved June 8 2019 Menn Joseph Beto O Rourke s secret membership in America s oldest hacking group Reuters Retrieved March 15 2019 Heffernan Virginia What Beto s Weird Teenage Poetry Tells Us About His Politics Politico Retrieved March 31 2019 Haake Garrett Siemaszko Corky April 24 2019 Beto O Rourke wins the endorsement of the original Psychedelic Warlord David Brock NBC News Retrieved April 24 2019 Texas debate Beto O Rourke bio and background KHOU October 12 2018 Retrieved October 20 2018 Seyffert Estefania El Paso High celebrates alumni O Rourke s Presidential bid KTSM Retrieved March 24 2019 a b Hancock Jamie February 19 2019 Beto O Rourke s high school past The Dallas Morning News Retrieved February 28 2019 a b c Buzbee Emma Percy Noah November 1 2018 Punk rocker rower under the radar student Beto O Rourke s time at Columbia Columbia Daily Spectator Retrieved November 2 2018 a b Beto O Rourke D The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on July 29 2019 Retrieved January 3 2013 a b Roberts Chris May 23 2012 New Silvestre Reyes ad attacks Beto O Rourke s character El Paso Times Archived from the original on September 19 2014 a b Fernandez Manny May 30 2012 House Democrat Is Defeated in Texas Primary The New York Times Retrieved June 23 2016 Neff Blake March 24 2014 For O Rourke border a plus not a minus The Hill Retrieved February 6 2019 Stuart Tessa August 30 2018 Beto O Rourke Shares the Story of His Old Band Foss and a Single Rolling Stone Retrieved April 18 2019 Lambrecht Bill March 15 2017 Border congressman on verge of U S Senate run San Antonio Express News Hearst Communications Archived from the original on February 8 2019 Retrieved February 8 2019 Lambert Dan March 7 2007 Top 10 Beto O Rourke What s Up Archived from the original on February 12 2019 Retrieved November 14 2018 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Benson Eric January 2018 What Makes Beto Run Does Beto O Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz Texas Monthly pp 78 108 a b Cush Andy October 4 2017 A Chat With Beto O Rourke the Ex Punk Bassist Running for Ted Cruz s Senate Seat Spin Retrieved March 1 2018 Foss MySpace Retrieved November 12 2018 a b Cepeda Eduardo September 2018 What It Was Like to Be In a Punk Band With Beto O Rourke According to Cedric Bixler Zavala Remezcla Retrieved November 13 2018 Arcand Rob August 30 2018 Beto O Rourke Unearths 1993 Single with Cedric Bixler Zavala Listen Spin Retrieved November 14 2018 Napolin Julie Beth Summer by the swedes the swedes Retrieved November 14 2018 We found video of Beto O Rourke singing the Ramones in a sheep mask and a white onesie Mother Jones Retrieved April 21 2019 Stein Jeff October 9 2017 Sometimes a Hail Mary works meet the Democrat trying to beat Ted Cruz in Texas Vox Archived from the original on February 9 2019 Retrieved February 7 2019 a b Controlling Cyberspace What s at stake with net neutrality KFOX TV Retrieved March 31 2017 Meet Beto O Rourke the Texas punk rocker who could beat Ted Cruz Newsweek March 6 2018 Retrieved September 14 2018 a b Murphy Tim January 28 2019 The Inside Story of Beto O Rourke s Short Lived Alt Weekly Mother Jones Retrieved April 16 2019 Lovegrove Jamie March 31 2017 Beto O Rourke launches 2018 Senate campaign in underdog bid to unseat Ted Cruz Dallas News Retrieved March 31 2017 Dhillon Naomi June 7 2017 Stanton Street announces new owership Stanton Street Retrieved September 17 2019 Kolenc Vic July 6 2000 Online magazine dream helps drive publisher s efforts El Paso Times Retrieved April 11 2019 Engagements O Rourke Pearson May 6 2001 Retrieved April 7 2019 Her fiance is a news director for KTSM News Channel 9 Gilot Louie January 6 2004 52 under 40 El Paso Times Retrieved November 5 2018 Bailey Holly October 2 2018 Like Ted Cruz Beto O Rourke had a fiery charismatic father The similarities end there Yahoo News Retrieved December 2 2019 Seyffert Estefania March 18 2019 Becoming Beto O Rourke family shares candidate s upbringing KTSM Retrieved March 24 2019 a b Terris Ben February 21 2017 Beto O Rourke is a Mexico loving liberal in Texas Can he really beat Ted Cruz The Washington Post Retrieved March 14 2019 El Paso City Council District 8 Race May 07 2005 Our Campaigns Retrieved May 20 2013 2005 General Election City of El Paso Retrieved May 20 2013 permanent dead link Beto O Rourke Why he s not running El Paso Inc Archived from the original on July 10 2011 Retrieved February 24 2010 Our Campaigns El Paso City Council District 8 Race May 12 2007 ourcampaigns com Low turnout not as big a surprise as voting trends El Paso Times permanent dead link Crowder David June 15 2005 Council draws terms picks mayor pro tem El Paso Times Retrieved April 7 2019 Crowder David June 15 2005 O Rourke to give up pro tem position El Paso Times Retrieved April 7 2019 Welsome Eileen Eminent Disaster Texas Observer Downtown plan Land Grab Opponents using stall tactics El Paso Times September 7 2006 Retrieved May 27 2019 O Rourke Beto October 22 2006 City rep moves past barrage of unfounded ethics charges El Paso Times Retrieved May 27 2019 Smith Jordan January 12 2009 El Paso Council Wants to End the War on Drugs The Austin Chronicle Retrieved July 2 2018 El Paso s small step The Economist September 24 2009 Retrieved July 2 2018 Sledge Matt April 18 2012 Rep Silvestre Reyes Challenger Beto O Rourke Square Off Over Drug War In Fierce Texas Primary Huffington Post Retrieved July 2 2018 Fernandez Manny February 17 2016 Pope s Presence Crosses Border Into U S Even if He Doesn t The New York Times Retrieved June 23 2016 Crowder David January 9 2009 O Rourke in national headlights over 12 words in Drug War resolution Newspaper Tree Archived from the original on March 7 2009 Retrieved April 2 2017 Weiner Rachel May 30 2012 Rep Silvestre Reyes D Texas defeated by Beto O Rourke The Washington Post Retrieved November 12 2018 a b c Taffet David January 4 2013 El Paso s Beto O Rourke among strongest new LGBT allies in Congress Dallas Voice Retrieved June 24 2016 Ortiz Uribe Monica May 14 2012 West Texas Congressional Race Could Yield Surprises Fronteras KJZZ Retrieved June 24 2016 U S House District 16 The Texas Tribune Retrieved July 2 2018 a b Aguilar Julian July 24 2013 El Paso Lawmaker Can t Join Hispanic Caucus Some Seek Rule Change The Texas Tribune Retrieved November 14 2018 Caplan Bricker Nora October 4 2014 The Bipartisan Border Abuse Bill Congress Is Ignoring National Journal 1 Rasmussen Patty July 2014 Moving Along Site Selection 59 4 102 Willis Derek November 2 2014 House Democrats Dig Deep for Cash From Their Colleagues Campaigns The New York Times Retrieved June 23 2016 Terris Ben November 22 2014 Stuck Singing Backup The Washington Post a b c Borunda Daniel May 11 2015 U S Rep Beto O Rourke talks about Israel trip El Paso Times Retrieved November 21 2018 a b Moore Robert June 10 2016 Rep Beto O Rourke endorses Hillary Clinton El Paso Times Retrieved June 23 2016 a b Murphy Tim September October 2017 Houston We Have Progress Mother Jones 42 5 24 65 Retrieved November 12 2018 Valdez Diana Washington October 13 2015 Congressman O Rourke to seek re election El Paso Times Retrieved June 24 2016 Texas U S House 16th District Results Beto O Rourke Wins The New York Times August 1 2017 Retrieved July 2 2018 a b Svitek Patrick September 23 2017 O Rourke praises Pelosi but doesn t want her help in Senate bid The Texas Tribune Retrieved March 16 2018 Most Neglected Constituency in Immigration Reform Are US Citizens The Key PR Newswire Washington February 15 2017 Mali Meghashyam March 14 2019 O Rourke nabs 2020 endorsement from his successor in Congress The Hill a b Members New Democrat Coalition Archived from the original on February 8 2018 Retrieved February 5 2018 Membership Congressional Arts Caucus Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved March 13 2018 Epstein Reid J March 31 2017 Democratic Congressman Beto O Rourke Launches Longshot Senate Challenge to Ted Cruz The Wall Street Journal Retrieved October 19 2018 Livingston Abby March 29 2017 Rep Beto O Rourke to launch Senate run against Ted Cruz Friday The Texas Tribune Retrieved November 11 2017 Lee Jasmine C Almukthar Sarah Bloch Matthew March 7 2018 Texas Primary Election Results The New York Times Retrieved March 7 2018 Yaffe Bellany David June 9 2018 Texas has 254 counties Beto O Rourke has campaigned against Ted Cruz in each of them The Texas Tribune a b Alberta Tim November 4 2018 Did Beto Blow It Politico Retrieved November 15 2018 a b c d Svitek Patrick October 12 2018 Beto O Rourke raised more than 38 million in the third quarter alone a record that s about three times Ted Cruz s haul The Texas Tribune Retrieved October 20 2018 a b c Guynn Jessica Jervis Rick Schnaars Christopher The Facebook candidate Beto O Rourke s social media savvy fuels long shot Ted Cruz challenge October 26 2018 USA Today Retrieved November 14 2018 Roose Kevin August 2 2018 Candidates Enter The Texting Era With a Plea Will U Vote 4 Me The New York Times Vol 167 no 58042 pp B1 B4 Retrieved November 26 2018 a b Cunningham Meg October 16 2018 Beto O Rourke is taking advantage of the digital ad spending trend ABC News Retrieved November 14 2018 Bailey Holly August 18 2018 Beto O Rourke on a suicide mission against Ted Cruz is having the time of his life and might even come out of it alive Yahoo News Archived from the original on February 9 2019 Retrieved February 7 2019 Solomon Dan March 10 2018 Beto O Rourke s Campaign Strategy Isn t Changing Texas Monthly Archived from the original on February 9 2019 Retrieved February 7 2019 Fernandez Manny November 26 2018 Beto O Rourke Says He Isn t Ruling Out 2020 Presidential Bid The New York Times Archived from the original on February 12 2019 Retrieved February 7 2019 Mr O Rourke stood out in the 2018 midterm campaign as an unusually charismatic figure and speaker a former punk rock bassist who became a businessman and City Council member before entering Congress Rice Andrew November 7 2018 Beto O Rourke and the Limits of Charisma New York Archived from the original on January 7 2019 Retrieved February 7 2019 O Rourke a former musician started the campaign talking about his punk rock campaign philosophy vowing to refuse corporate donations and touring Texas by van as likely to appear at a honky tonk bar as the Rotary Club By the end he was playing arena shows In politics any mildly compelling candidate is apt to be called a rock star but O Rourke actually performed like one Zurcher Anthony April 4 2018 The place that tells you everything about US politics BBC News Archived from the original on December 14 2018 Retrieved February 8 2019 O Rourke himself is a former punk rocker who cut a few albums and toured the US as the bass guitarist in the band Foss He s still got a bit of that rocker edge sprinkling some choice obscenities into his speeches and even media interviews Swartz Mimi May 19 2017 Opinion Why Texas Democrats Are Betting on Beto O Rourke The New York Times Archived from the original on May 20 2017 Retrieved February 7 2019 MCAFEE TIERNEY August 23 2018 Rep Beto O Rourke Defends NFL Protests in Viral Video I Can Think of Nothing More American People Retrieved November 14 2018 a b Chait Jonathan September 22 2018 Ted Cruz Attacks Beto O Rourke for Denouncing Police Murder in a Black Church New York Intelligencer Retrieved October 19 2018 a b Johnson Jenna August 30 2018 Why so many people are coming to see Beto O Rourke A revolt against Trump and a demand for compassion The Washington Post Retrieved September 23 2018 Mekelburg Madlin July 13 2017 Democratic congressman raises 2M in bid against Sen Ted Cruz USA Today Retrieved November 11 2017 Rahman Fauzeya July 27 2017 Beto O Rourke claims near uniqueness in not taking corporate or PAC contributions Politifact Retrieved May 11 2018 Beto O Rourke says he doesn t take PAC donations PolitiFact Retrieved August 27 2018 Lovegrove Jamie June 2017 Well funded anti Citizens United group backs O Rourke in Senate challenge against Cruz Dallas News Archived from the original on July 15 2018 Retrieved July 15 2018 Relman Eliza March 1 2018 A Democrat no one s heard of just raised triple the amount Ted Cruz did despite rejecting special interest money Business Insider Burke Michael October 15 2018 Beto O Rourke will not share 38 million he raised with other Dem Senate candidates The Hill Retrieved October 20 2018 Reed Colin December 26 2018 Beto O Rourke eyeing White House after losing Senate race Fox News Dartunorro Clark September 22 2018 Cruz O Rourke clash on issues and get personal in feisty first debate for Texas Senate seat CNN Retrieved September 22 2018 Arkin James September 21 2018 Cruz O Rourke clash in raucous Texas Senate debate Politico Retrieved September 22 2018 Fernandez Manny Ferman Mitchell September 21 2018 Ted Cruz and Beto O Rourke Debate Who Is Out of Step With Texas The New York Times Retrieved October 20 2018 Diaz Kevin September 22 2018 Beto Cruz debate In this knife fight Cruz drew more blood Houston Chronicle Retrieved October 20 2018 Baranauckas Carla October 11 2018 Ted Cruz Rejects CNN Town Hall Beto O Rourke Will Get Full Hour Huffington Post Retrieved October 20 2018 a b Beto O Rourke takes questions at CNN town hall Live updates CNN October 18 2018 Retrieved October 20 2018 Beto O Rourke says he d vote to impeach Trump during CNN town hall The New York Post Associated Press October 19 2018 Retrieved October 20 2018 The Editorial Board October 19 2018 For U S Senate Beto O Rourke Houston Chronicle Retrieved October 23 2018 We recommend Beto O Rourke for U S Senate Dallas News October 25 2018 Retrieved October 25 2018 For U S Senate Electing Beto O Rourke is good business Fort Worth Star Telegram October 26 2018 Doyle Patrick September 18 2018 Lukas Nelson Defends His Dad Willie s Beto O Rourke Endorsement Rolling Stone Retrieved September 22 2018 Hughes Hillary September 30 2018 Willie Nelson Performs New Vote Em Out Song for Beto O Rourke Rally The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved October 10 2018 Corbin Cristina November 6 2018 Beyonce endorses Beto O Rourke in Instagram posts hours before polls close Fox News Retrieved November 7 2018 Here s how 13 celebrities endorsed Beto O Rourke for U S Senate El Paso Times November 6 2018 Retrieved November 7 2018 Lundstrom Kathryn September 19 2018 Beto O Rourke leads Ted Cruz by 2 among likely voters in U S Senate race new poll finds The Texas Tribune Retrieved September 22 2018 Goldberg Michelle October 1 2018 Opinion Save Us Texas The New York Times Retrieved October 22 2018 a b SHEPHARD ALEX October 19 2018 Beto O Rourke Isn t Running for Senate Anymore The New Republic Retrieved October 22 2018 a b Hamby Peter August 29 2018 It Seems Like Iowa in 2007 Could Beto O Rourke Be the Next Obama The Hive Retrieved October 22 2018 Riotta Chris November 7 2018 Ted Cruz wins tight Senate race against Beto O Rourke The Independent Retrieved November 11 2018 Sanchez Carlos November 9 2018 Despite Tight Race With Ted Cruz Beto O Rourke Got Less Votes Than Least Popular Statewide Republican Texas Monthly Retrieved November 11 2018 Ted Cruz thwarts challenge from Democratic insurgent Beto O Rourke in tight Senate race ABC News projects ABC News November 7 2018 Retrieved November 7 2018 Wallace Jeremy December 6 2018 Ted Cruz s margin of victory over Beto O Rourke was even slimmer than we thought HoustonChronicle com Boney Jeffrey L November 10 2018 The Beto Effect The Philadelphia Tribune Retrieved November 11 2018 Livni Ephrat November 10 2018 Beto O Rourke helped turn Texas courts blue in US midterms Quartz qz com Retrieved November 11 2018 a b Henson James November 9 2018 Opinion Beto O Rourke should run for Senate in 2020 He could win The Washington Post Retrieved November 13 2018 Ted Cruz thwarts challenge from Democratic insurgent Beto O Rourke in tight Senate race ABC News projects ABC News November 7 2018 Retrieved April 18 2019 Lemon Jason November 11 2018 Beto O Rourke has star quality Republican strategist says as calls for 2020 presidential run increase Newsweek Retrieved November 12 2018 Geraghty Jim November 12 2018 Long Shot Beto National Review 70 21 16 17 Retrieved November 12 2018 Swanson Ian November 11 2018 Beto 2020 calls multiply among Dems The Hill Retrieved November 11 2018 Reints Renae November 19 2018 The Possibility of a Presidential Run by Beto O Rourke Has Democratic Donors Holding Their Breath Fortune Retrieved November 25 2018 Tilove Jonathan March 13 2019 Breaking Beto O Rourke confirmed 2020 presidential run TV station reports Austin American Statesman Retrieved March 13 2019 Wilkie Christina March 14 2019 Beto O Rourke is running for president Like Obama he has sought the middle ground on policy while his Democratic rivals veer to the left CNBC Retrieved March 14 2019 Democrat Beto O Rourke announces 2020 White House bid Associated Press March 14 2019 Retrieved March 14 2019 Kruse Michael May 10 2019 Beto s Long History of Failing Upward Politico Retrieved March 28 2021 Burns Alexander November 1 2019 Beto O Rourke Drops Out of the Presidential Race The New York Times Beto O Rourke s full statement on dropping out of the 2020 race CNN November 1 2019 Retrieved November 1 2019 Re Gregg and Samuel Chamberlain March 2 2020 O Rourke endorses Biden at Dallas rally on eve of Super Tuesday as ex VP appears to offer gun control role Fox News Retrieved March 2 2020 Svitek Patrick December 20 2019 Beto O Rourke unveils PAC with focus on boosting Texas Democrats in 2020 The Texas Tribune Retrieved December 31 2020 Republican projected to win Texas state House seat in race watched for 2020 clues NBC News January 29 2020 Retrieved December 31 2020 WEBER PAUL J January 29 2020 Democrats early 2020 blitz to strike in Texas flops KEYE Retrieved December 31 2020 Diaz Daniella Grayer Annie February 19 2021 While Cruz was traveling from Cancun O Rourke and AOC helped Texans in crisis CNN Retrieved February 19 2021 Romero Simon February 19 2021 Beto O Rourke s response to crisis rekindles speculation about his political plans The New York Times Retrieved February 20 2021 Brewster Adam November 15 2021 Beto O Rourke launches 2022 bid for Texas governor CBS News Retrieved November 15 2021 Texas Governor Abbot vs O Rourke RealClearPolitics Retrieved February 3 2022 GOP s Abbott wins 3rd term as Texas governor beats O Rourke AP News November 8 2022 Retrieved November 9 2022 Jilani Zaid December 4 2018 What Does Beto O Rourke Actually Stand For Current Affairs Current Affairs Retrieved May 14 2019 Rice Andrew July 9 2018 Can a Democrat Ever Win in Texas Beto O Rourke Says Yes New York Intelligencer New York Retrieved August 2 2018 Bradner Eric April 14 2018 Why Democrats everywhere are watching Beto O Rourke s Senate campaign in Texas CNN Retrieved August 2 2018 The cult of Beto theweek com October 10 2018 Retrieved May 14 2019 Cook James October 2 2018 Democrats dazzled by rising star in Texas BBC News Retrieved December 13 2018 Schmidt Robert September 30 2009 Pro Business New Democrats Try to Shape Financial Regulations Bloomberg Retrieved January 6 2013 Mayer Lindsay November 17 2009 Blue Dogs and New Democrats Find Friends on Wall Street OpenSecrets Retrieved January 6 2013 The Voter s Self Defense System Vote Smart Retrieved August 2 2018 Dovere Edward Isaac March 20 2018 Beto O Rourke Doesn t Want to Be Democrats Next National Cause Politico Magazine Retrieved August 2 2018 Beto O Rourke Representative for Texas s 16th Congressional District GovTrack us GovTrack us Retrieved August 2 2018 Bycoffe Aaron Silver Nate January 30 2017 Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump FiveThirtyEight Retrieved August 2 2018 Allegheny College February 23 2018 2018 Allegheny College Prize for Civility in Public Life YouTube Archived from the original on December 21 2021 Retrieved July 17 2018 Bipartisan Road Trip By Two Texas Congressmen Wins National Award Texas Monthly July 18 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 Civility award goes to Texas buddies Beto O Rourke and Will Hurd as each scraps for partisan win in the fall Dallas News July 17 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 The Future of Bipartisanship in Congress Might Be Road Trips Time Retrieved September 20 2018 Beto O Rourke and Will Hurd road trip wins them Civility in Public Life award HoustonChronicle com July 17 2018 a b The economy Times Record News Retrieved September 22 2018 Beto O Rourke s Ratings and Endorsements Print Track This Politician Vote Smart Retrieved September 22 2018 Lyons Joseph D August 29 2018 Beto O Rourke Tackled How The School To Prison Pipeline Stifles Young People Bustle Retrieved October 20 2018 a b c O Rourke Beto August 27 2018 O Rourke Texas should lead the way on true criminal justice reform Opinion HoustonChronicle com Retrieved October 20 2018 a b c Beto O Rourke calls on Texas to decriminalize pot stop arresting so many students Dallas News August 28 2018 Retrieved August 29 2018 Bradner Eric March 4 2019 Beto O Rourke calls for federal marijuana legalization ahead of likely 2020 bid CNN Retrieved March 5 2019 Corchado Alfredo March 10 2018 Beto O Rourke s El Paso roots may be key in his uphill battle against Ted Cruz O Rourke Beto Byrd Susie 2011 Dealing Death and Drugs The Big Business of Dope in the U S and Mexico Cinco Puntos Press published July 10 2011 ISBN 978 1 933693 94 1 Blad Evie July 24 2019 Beto O Rourke s Education Plan A Surge in Federal Funds With Equity Strings Attached Education Week Retrieved November 15 2021 Smith Corbett March 7 2022 Beto O Rourke pledges to increase school funding fight vouchers during Dallas campaign stop Dallas News Retrieved March 13 2022 Tolbert Jim April 18 2012 Caring for the Environment and Conservation is Personal with Beto O Rourke elpasonaturally Retrieved November 2 2012 ASARCO smokestacks demolished KVIA TV January 15 2014 Archived from the original on April 6 2019 Retrieved November 2 2009 a b Ted Cruz Challenger Picks Up Key Environmental Endorsement HuffPost December 11 2017 Retrieved September 22 2018 Beto O Rourke on Energy amp Oil www ontheissues org scorecard Voting record SCV Retrieved September 22 2018 Beto O Rourke Is Running for President and It All Started With Weed The Intercept March 14 2019 Ted Cruz slams Beto O Rourke over Israel vote Houston Chronicle September 17 2018 O Rourke U S Moving Embassy to Jerusalem Was Provocative Provided Incentives and Incitement to Violence Washington Free Beacon June 25 2018 Retrieved September 14 2018 Democratic Presidential Hopeful Beto O Rourke Bashes Racist Netanyahu Before Israel Election Haaretz April 8 2019 O Rourke US Israel relationship must transcend a prime minister who is racist The Hill April 7 2019 a b c Sen Ted Cruz Rep Beto O Rourke press for accountability in Jamal Khashoggi s death The Texas Tribune October 20 2018 Texas Democrats Largely Back Obama on Iran Deal The Texas Tribune September 11 2015 O Rourke concerned president may sleepwalk or tweet country into war Fort Worth Star Telegram August 11 2017 IRAQ WAR AP News April 2 2019 a b Ignore the skeptics Beto O Rourke has the policy chops to run for president Opinion Houston Chronicle December 15 2018 Hagen Lisa July 18 2018 Russia raises problems for GOP candidates The Hill Retrieved July 19 2018 Panetta Grace July 17 2018 A major Democratic Senate candidate just called for Trump s impeachment after his press conference with Putin Business Insider Retrieved July 18 2018 Beto O Rourke accuses Trump of collusion with Russia Global News March 23 2019 Trump has a legitimate gripe with China but his trade war alienated partners Democrat Beto O Rourke says CNBC March 14 2019 Beto O Rourke on Foreign Policy www ontheissues org Retrieved March 18 2019 Here s How The U S Sparked A Refugee Crisis On The Border In 8 Simple Steps HuffPost July 18 2014 Woolf Nicky June 23 2016 Democrats stream gun control sit in on Periscope after Republicans turn TV cameras off The Guardian Retrieved July 2 2018 Stracqualursi Veronica March 7 2018 O Rourke defends gun control stance in Texas Senate race CNN Benson Eric December 21 2017 Does Beto O Rourke Stand a Chance Against Ted Cruz Texas Monthly Retrieved May 11 2018 Greene Sydney Pollock Cassandra February 23 2018 We asked all 38 Texans in Congress about gun control after the Florida school shooting Ten answered The Texas Tribune a b Hell yes Beto O Rourke s call to confiscate AR 15s pushes gun debate to new level Dallas News September 13 2019 Pane Lisa September 22 2019 Beto O Rourke calls for gun buybacks How would that work Christian Science Monitor Associated Press Retrieved November 1 2019 Boot Max September 17 2019 Thanks Beto We need to debate an assault weapon buyback The Washington Post Retrieved November 1 2019 BetoORourke September 2 2019 I was asked how I d address people s fears that we will take away their assault rifles Tweet Retrieved November 2 2018 via Twitter McArdle Mairead October 16 2019 Beto Admits Non Compliant AR 15 Owners Would Receive a Visit from a Law Enforcement Officer under His Plan National Review Retrieved November 2 2019 Hell yes Beto O Rourke explains how he intends to get your AR 15s NBC News September 13 2019 Beto Gave Away the Game Will O Rourke s Hell Yes Moment Cost Him Back in Texas Vanity Fair September 20 2019 Svitek Patrick September 13 2019 Beto O Rourke gets debate moment Hell yes we re going to take your assault weapons The Texas Tribune Maegan Vazquez and Gregory Krieg May 25 2022 Beto O Rourke confronts Texas governor during update on Uvalde elementary school shooting CNN Retrieved May 27 2022 Beto O Rourke interrupts briefing echoing US debate on guns AP News May 25 2022 Retrieved May 27 2022 Hooper Kelly May 25 2022 You are doing nothing O Rourke accosts Abbott at press conference on shooting Politico Retrieved May 27 2022 Ulloa Jazmine June 4 2022 For Beto O Rourke Talk of Gun Control Has Become Both a Political Risk and Reward The New York Times Retrieved June 22 2022 O Keefe Ed March 6 2018 Ted Cruz calls out challenger Beto O Rourke in a sign of a tough fight to come in Texas The Washington Post Retrieved March 16 2018 Gillman Todd August 11 2018 Far apart on immigration Ted Cruz and Beto O Rourke both use the issue to woo voters Dallas Morning News Retrieved November 9 2018 O Rourke Beto May 2014 The View of Immigration Reform from the U S Mexico Border Public Administration Review 74 3 302 doi 10 1111 puar 12209 a b Borunda Daniela September 15 2017 Protecting Dreamers top priority O Rourke says at State of Congress luncheon El Paso Times Retrieved March 16 2018 Sanchez Sara November 28 2016 O Rourke addresses needs concerns related to DACA El Paso Times Retrieved March 16 2018 Beto O Rourke October 19 2016 The Border Makes America Great Beto O Rourke TEDxElPaso video El Paso TX YouTube O Rourke Beto March 1 2017 Thoughts on the joint session of Congress Medium Retrieved March 16 2018 Aguilar Julian Garcia Hernandez Juan Luis LUIS June 17 2018 Beto O Rourke Veronica Escobar lead Father s Day march on tent city housing separated immigrant children The Texas Tribune Retrieved November 12 2018 Gonzalez Maria Cortes June 17 2018 Beto O Rourke leads Tornillo protest against separation of immigrant families El Paso Times Separating Children From Parents at Border Is Un American and on All of Us Texas Rep Beto O Rourke Says KTLA CNN Wire June 17 2018 Diaz Kevin August 10 2018 Road Work Ahead The Houston Chronicle Retrieved March 27 2019 Frazin Rachel April 5 2019 O Rourke compares Trump immigration comments to Nazi Germany The Hill a b Selby W Gardner March 15 2018 Ted Cruz Beto O Rourke wants open border and to take guns PolitiFact Retrieved March 16 2018 Madani Doha February 15 2019 I d take the wall down says Beto O Rourke of current border barriers NBC News Retrieved April 2 2019 Sullivan Kate September 13 2019 Beto O Rourke Hell yes we re going to take your AR 15 your AK 47 CNN Retrieved November 2 2019 Warren Buttigieg reject O Rourke threat to tax anti LGBTQ churches NBC News October 14 2019 Holmes Lybrand Tara Subramaniam October 11 2019 Beto O Rourke said religious institutions should lose tax exempt status if they oppose gay marriage Is that legal CNN Beto O Rourke said he would revoke tax exempt status from religious organizations that oppose same sex marriage ABC News SCHOR ELANA October 15 2019 Beto wants to tax churches Warren Buttigieg say no way WKRC Retrieved December 31 2020 Beto O Rourke on Abortion OnTheIssues org Candidates on the Issues January 22 2015 Retrieved February 12 2019 O Rourke voted NAY to No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act H R 7 Dey Sneha June 27 2022 Beto O Rourke vows to repeal Texas abortion ban if elected governor The Texas Tribune Retrieved June 27 2022 Cosponsors H R 3135 113th Congress 2013 2014 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013 Congress gov January 22 2014 Scott Dylan March 18 2019 Medicare for America Beto O Rourke s favorite health care plan explained Vox Retrieved March 24 2019 Novack Sophie September 20 2017 Where do Texas Democrats Stand on Single Payer Health Care The Texas Observer Retrieved March 16 2018 Evans Glenn March 1 2018 In Longview stop O Rourke says he s confident gun measure will pass Longview News Journal Healthcare Texans Can Trust Beto for Senate Archived from the original on April 2 2018 Retrieved April 2 2018 Brian Higgins October 27 2017 H R 4094 115th Congress 2017 2018 Medicare X Choice Act of 2017 Congress gov Johnson Jenna August 31 2018 Why so many people are coming to see Beto O Rourke A revolt against Trump and a demand for compassion The Washington Post Retrieved August 31 2018 Wang Amy B September 22 2018 Analysis Master of the Self Own People wonder why Ted Cruz tweeted popular video of Beto O Rourke The Washington Post Retrieved October 19 2018 Montgomery Shelby September 17 2018 O Rourke touts improved wait times at town hall for El Paso veterans KVIA Archived from the original on September 21 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 Investigations Scott Bronstein and Drew Griffin CNN Could congressman s plan save the VA CNNPolitics CNN Retrieved September 20 2018 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a first has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Levinsky David MacArthur Veterans need better access to mental health care services Burlington County Times Archived from the original on September 25 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 MacArthur and O Rourke Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Veteran Mental Health Care Congressman Tom MacArthur March 26 2015 Archived from the original on September 19 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 House Committee on Veterans Affairs veterans house gov Archived from the original on September 20 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 U S Rep Beto O Rourke named to House Armed Services Committee Congressman Will Hurd January 9 2015 Archived from the original on September 19 2018 Retrieved September 20 2018 Sanchez Sara September 14 2016 O Rourke s proposals to aid veterans pass House El Paso Times Retrieved November 21 2018 Crowder David July 4 2001 Political risk taker died doing what he loved El Paso Times Retrieved November 3 2018 Cruz Laura July 7 2001 Friends family say goodbye to O Rourke El Paso Times Retrieved November 3 2018 Bieri Kate July 9 2017 El Paso bike trail named after late county judge Pat O Rourke KVIA ABC 7 News Archived from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved April 11 2019 Terrell Steve March 30 2019 From Santa Fe to the White House The Santa Fe New Mexican Retrieved April 5 2019 Helman Christopher Debter Lisa November 4 2018 Is Beto O Rourke s Wife Really A Billionaire Heiress Not Likely Forbes com retrieved March 3 2019 Fischer Steve October 5 2017 Sunset Heights offers tour of history Steve Fischer column El Paso Times Retrieved October 19 2018 Santana Steven December 21 2022 Rest in peace Bear Beto O Rourke mourns death of his sister mySA Retrieved January 30 2023 Beto O Rourke on Women s Right to Choose YouTube Greater Houston for Beto February 16 2018 Event occurs at 0 47 Archived from the original on December 21 2021 Retrieved April 9 2019 My mom who raised me and whose single greatest disappointment in life is that I m not a better Catholic and I m not in mass right now a b Fonce Olivas Tammy April 20 2005 Tax Relief Revitalization Motivate South West District Candidates El Paso Times Retrieved November 5 2018 Diaz Kevin August 30 2018 Police reports detail Beto O Rourke s 1998 DWI arrest Houston Chronicle Archived from the original on August 31 2018 Retrieved August 31 2018 Golshan Tara August 29 2018 Texas Republicans are trying to use Beto s punk rock days against him Vox Retrieved September 14 2018 2018 General Election Texas Secretary of State Retrieved December 5 2018 Texas Election Results SourcesAlexander Dan 2019 The Net Worth Of Every 2020 Presidential Candidate Forbes ISSN 0015 6914 archived from the original on November 4 2019 retrieved November 4 2019Long Trish 2019 Beto net worth Personal finances disclosures indicate O Rourke worth millions El Paso Times ISSN 0746 3588 archived from the original on November 4 2019 retrieved November 4 2019Further readingMelissa del Bosque Lights Camera Mayhem Texas Observer April 17 2009 Matt Flegenheimer Beto O Rourke Was Once Adrift in New York City Now He s Searching Again The New York Times February 6 2019 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beto O Rourke nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Beto O Rourke nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Beto O Rourke Beto for Texas campaign website Beto O Rourke at Curlie Appearances on C SPANBiography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Financial information federal office at the Federal Election Commission Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress Profile at Vote SmartCivic officesPreceded byAnthony Cobos Member of the El Paso City Councilfrom the 8th district2005 2011 Succeeded byCortney NilandU S House of RepresentativesPreceded bySilvestre Reyes Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Texas s 16th congressional district2013 2019 Succeeded byVeronica EscobarParty political officesPreceded byPaul Sadler Democratic nominee for U S Senator from Texas Class 1 2018 Most recentPreceded byLupe Valdez Democratic nominee for Governor of Texas2022U S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byBlake Farentholdas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United Statesas Former US Representative Succeeded byWill Hurdas Former US Representative Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Texas nbsp Politics nbsp Liberalism nbsp Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beto O 27Rourke amp oldid 1179064393, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.