An open letter to Beto O’Rourke: We’re not mad, just disappointed
Beto O’Rourke and his staff ran one of the most interesting campaigns of the decade. His campaign was energetic, promising and had the possibility of an amazing future for the Democratic Party in 2018.
When he was running against Ted Cruz, the sitting senator in Texas, O’Rourke was one of the most exciting politicians to watch. During a midterm election he almost did the impossible and turned Texas blue, so his future in the Democratic Party seemed promising. But after this impressive showing, O’Rourke drew some flak for making a hopeless bid at the American presidency over this past year.
O’Rourke recently withdrew his candidacy, making him one of the first big names to drop out. He never polled much above 10% and that was lowering as his campaign went on. After his 2018 run, O’Rourke had people’s attention and their curiosity, but he lacked their support. This young hopeful mistook excitement over “not-Ted Cruz” from Democrats across the country as excitement about him and thought he could run a campaign on that. He even seemed to steer into the “I’m not a Republican” angle with his hard focus on beating President Trump, something many were skeptical he’d be able to do after losing to Cruz.
O’Rourke also definitely lost some of his younger audience in this failed campaign. He was one of the most talked about politicians in the midterms, and his “I used to skate and listen to punk rock” persona worked for him. He was constantly trending on Twitter and people seemed to think he was genuinely “cool.” But when you try to take that same persona and use it to run for president, it fails. People went from supporting O’Rourke to laughing at him. His cool persona quickly turned to cringe-inducing attempts to pander. What felt genuine in 2018 felt forced and opportunistic in 2019.
However, this campaign shouldn’t be the end for O’Rourke. His stances on gun control, climate change, health care and immigration may not have been the most progressive or comprehensive on the presidential stage, but the name recognition and publicity he gained from this campaign might just be what it takes to unseat Senator Cruz in 2024 when he is up for reelection again. O’Rourke’s semi-progressive stances may not have impressed on the main stage, but they could be a major win for the Democratic Party in the traditionally red Texas.
This presidential election must have been a letdown for O’Rourke, but he shouldn’t take that to mean that Democrats don’t want him to run again; we just don’t like him for the office of the presidency. O’Rourke should absolutely run again in 2024 against Senator Cruz and he absolutely could win. His run for the presidency may have been ill-advised and misguided, but that doesn’t mean we’ve given up on him or his bid for legislative office in Texas.
O’Rourke did better than anyone could have expected in 2018, but his lack of support in 2020 shouldn’t discourage him from running against Ted Cruz again. He is one of the Democrats’ best bets on turning Texas blue.
