Posted on 11/26/2021 2:17:08 PM PST by Signalman
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke raised $2 million dollars in the first 24 hours of his bid, his campaign told the Texas Tribune. The former congressman has previously reported impressive fundraising numbers in unsuccessful bids for the Senate and the White House, leaving some asking if this race is any different.
The O'Rourke campaign called the sum a record "for any Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the first 24 hours" of a campaign and the most raised in the "first 24 hours of any campaign in 2021."
But O'Rourke’s reputation as a fundraising powerhouse doesn’t make his candidacy any less of a long shot. He is running against an incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, who has over $55 million in his campaign war chest. Polls show O'Rourke currently trailing Abbott in the Lone Star State, and he has to overcome the baggage of two previous failed campaigns.
In this race, O'Rourke does have some advantages: He is arguably Texas’s most widely known Democrat, and Abbott in September received his lowest-ever approval rating since taking office, with 50% disapproving of his job performance and just 41% supporting.
But impressive fundraising numbers didn’t lead to wins in his two previous campaigns.
In 2018, as a little-known congressman from an El Paso-area district, O'Rourke launched a campaign against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, raising a whopping $80 million , more than double what Cruz raised. O'Rourke rose to national prominence during that effort, noted for his ability to energize young voters. But some national Democrats questioned whether that money would be better spent in more winnable races. O'Rourke ultimately failed, but he came within 3% of Cruz.
O'Rourke then launched a bid for the Democratic nomination for president, where supporters hoped he could channel his fundraising prowess into a successful campaign, but he ultimately raised less some quarters than he did as a Senate candidate.
But in his new statewide campaign, some of the advantages O'Rourke enjoyed in 2018 are no longer there . In 2018, then-President Donald Trump had a historically unpopular approval rating heading into Election Day in the midterm elections, with an approval rating of just 39%. Now, President Joe Biden, a member of O'Rourke’s party, has a comparably low approval rating. Glenn Youngkin’s victory in Virginia and unexpected GOP gains in New Jersey suggest voters will lean toward Republicans next year, yet another hurdle for O'Rourke.
Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, recently told Axios that O'Rourke was "a shiny new object" during his Senate bid, but "things after that have gotten a little more complicated."
"Ultimately, running against Ted Cruz is an easy sell among Democrats," Blank said. "Once he jumped into the 2020 presidential primary, he had to distinguish himself from other Democrats and that just by its nature creates more conflict, even within one's party."
Blank added that O'Rourke is “going to both benefit and face some costs by being a known quantity in 2022."
Republicans were quick to point to O’Rourke's two previous failed campaigns to paint him as unelectable.
“There is no amount of money that will make Beto O’Rourke a palatable candidate for a majority of Texas voters," Joanna Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Republican Governors Association, told the Washington Examiner. "He kissed his chances at statewide office goodbye when he vowed to confiscate the firearms of law-abiding citizens, pledged to tear down physical barriers along the border, and supported regulations that would kill over a million jobs across the state and raise taxes and the cost of living on families and small businesses. Donating to him is equivalent to lighting money on fire.”
In a statement this month after O’Rourke announced his candidacy, Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi said: “As far-left progressivism is rejected by voters nationwide, the Texas Democratic Party is doubling down on extremist politicians like O’Rourke.”
“Texans want lower taxes, good schools and a strong economy, not vaccine mandates, January 6 hearings, a Green New Deal, and ‘everything is racist,’” Rinaldi said. “O’Rourke’s latest campaign will end the same way the last few have, with a concession speech.”
Some Democrats pushed back on the idea that they shouldn’t compete in a red state. Mike Nellis, a Democratic digital strategist, recently tweeted that people “dunking” on O’Rourke “are completely missing the point.”
“Maybe he can't win. Who knows!” Nellis wrote. “But it's important for Democrats to compete seriously everywhere. It builds the bench and strengthens the party. I'm glad he's running — win or lose.”
In his current campaign, O'Rourke appears poised to focus on state issues rather than national ones. In a video announcing his candidacy, O’Rourke referenced the failure of the state’s electricity grid in February and said Republicans prioritized “divisive” issues.
“It’s a symptom of a much larger problem that we have in Texas right now,” he said. “Those in positions of public trust have stopped listening to, serving and paying attention to and trusting the people of Texas.”
This is a week old.
A whole business day seems a long time for Soros’s check to clear.
Nope you dope.
his only role is to raise money from clueless out of state donors.
We’ll all be able to tell which of our neighbors are gun grabbing idiots by their Beto sign, so that will be a plus.
Might as well put up a “gun free home” sign.
That boy is a screaming temper tantrum. Just step over him.
About a snowball's chance, IMO...
But then, there is Dominion ya know...
How much of that 2 mil came from his billionaire father-in-law?
I like Dems that spend a boatload to stimulate a republican economy... a trickle down effect... get it, from a sinking ship...
They can give him $100 million and he will still be an unelectable pendejo.
Depends on how many vote counting officials and machines the dork can purchase. Oh, and let’s not forget about all those ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS just imported in by Slow Joe and the HO.
It will help keep him in luxury rentals, quality restaurants, and pricey clothing for the duration. It will meet its goal. He has lived on campaign donations for the past 5 years. A really good gig.
Texas’s state law enforcement had BETTER prosecute any and every illegal voter scheme they can sniff out.
Like, yesterday.
Maybe he’ll start his own gun buyback program. /s
“Donating to him is equivalent to lighting money on fire.”
I agree but yet they continue to do it.
Bet 0 on Beto.
I don’t think Beto is in it to win it. He is looking to lose and pocket the remaining donations.
How much did soroz chip in
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