AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 09: Beto O’Rourke attends the “Running with Beto” Premiere 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 09, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW)
He says he was born to run. Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke announced he is running for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2020.
O’Rourke announced his run in a video and quickly flowed up with a town hall meeting in Iowa, which holds caucuses eleven months from now.
O’Rourke burst onto the scene last year by nearly upsetting Texas Senator Ted Cruz, breaking fundraising records in the process. O’Rourke drew large crowds, especially with younger voters, and used social media to broaden his reach across the state.
O’Rourke has taken an unconventional path in politics. He played in a punk rock band, founded a tech company, then entered local politics in El Paso before winning a seat in Congress.
He has embraced many progressive causes, such as Medicare for all, and in his town hall issued a dire warning about climate change.
He told voters “We face catastrophe and crises on this planet, even if we were to stop emitting carbon today right at this moment.” But he didn’t formally endorse the so called “Green New Deal”, a multi-trillion-dollar environmental plan favored by some of his Democratic opponents.
O’Rourke will campaign for three days in Iowa before formally kicking off his campaign in El Paso on March 30th.
