Free Republic

He has been the Texas Democratic Party’s great hope. But after failed runs for senator, president and governor, observers wonder if he has a political future. Four years ago, Beto O’Rourke became the next great hope for the Texas Democratic Party. Starting his senatorial campaign as a little-known congressman from El Paso, he captured lightning in a bottle by barnstorming across the state’s 254 counties on his way to a narrow loss to Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Though he came up short, O’Rourke helped sweep in down-ballot victories across the state and helping Democrats pick up 12 seats in...

Beto O’Rourke has raised $76.5 million in his bid for governor of Texas this year. Stacey Abrams has raised $85 million in her bid for governor of Georgia. When all is said and done, O’Rourke will probably top $80 million and Abrams may raise more than $90 million, so Democratic donors have given least $161 million, and may give about $170 million or so to two progressive Democrats who are running fairly longshot races against Republican incumbents in traditionally GOP-leaning southern states. But I will make one small – I mean, best-use-a-microscope small — defense of O’Rourke and Abrams. Just...

QUICKFACTS Democrat Robert O’Rourke is running for election for Governor of Texas against Republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott.Here is a summary: – Advocates the Legalization of Narcotics – Supports open borders – Denies there is a border crisis – Supports Athletes Who Kneel in Protest During National Anthem – Says He Benefits from White Privilege – Advocates the Impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh – Compared Trump to Hitler – Characterizes Republicans As a “Cult of Death” – Believes in Critical Race Theory – Is Anti-Gun Rights – Received $1 million Financial Support from George Soros – Strongly favors...

AUSTIN, Texas - In a cavernous, modern sanctuary at Greater Mt. Zion Church, the Rev. Gaylon Clark introduced Beto O’Rourke to his congregation one recent Sunday as “the next governor of the state of Texas.” Then he raised his hand and, over the strains of a keyboard, prayed for “victory in the name of Jesus.” In the sanctuary, the churchgoers said, “Amen.” In the lobby, they lined up for pictures with the one-time Democratic sensation now lagging in the polls. “With God and faith and him being here today,” one of the congregants told me, “you should see a change...

Beto O’Rourke is defending the F-bomb he dropped Wednesday night while confronting a heckler who he said was laughing during his remarks about the Uvalde mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers. The incident occurred during a rally in Mineral Wells as O’Rourke began talking about the need to curb mass shootings like the one that happened May 24 at Robb Elementary School. A man in the crowd could be seen and heard laughing as O’Rourke talked about Uvalde, prompting the Democratic nominee for governor to respond with an expletive.

Beto O'Rourke urged protesters to break the opposition of Republicans to gun control by 'getting in their faces before another child is shot in face' outside the National Rifle Association meeting in Houston on Friday. Thousands of protesters assembled across the street from a convention center where former President Donald Trump was due to speak in favor of the Second Amendment. But O'Rourke, who is running to unseat Republican Greg Abbott as Texas governor, delivered an impassioned plea for action days after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead about 270 miles away in Uvalde. 'So I ask you...

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke on Friday will attend a rally outside of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual summit in Houston alongside several organizations following the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this week.

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke on Monday said he tested positive for COVID-19. “In addition to being fully vaccinated and boosted, I regularly test for COVID-19 while traveling the state for town hall meetings,” O’Rourke said in a tweet. O’Rourke said he tested negative on Sunday before getting a positive test on Monday.

Have you heard about the newest diet, It’s all the rage. It's called the 'Beto' progressive diet and is perfect for low-information voters. It will help you lose your freedoms and improve your dependency on the government. This new low IQ diet will put you in a state of 'Betosis' which will help you shift away from individual freedoms and after a few months you will freely give up your guns. The end goal of a properly maintained Beto diet is to force your mind into this unbalanced mental state so that you will blindly do whatever nanny state tells...

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott handily beat several vocal challengers during Tuesday’s primary, leading to a November face-off with Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who also cruised to victory. The incumbent governor, who is seeking a third term, easily won his party’s nomination, fending off six other candidates, including Allen West, a former congressman and chairman of the Republican Party of Texas. “Republicans sent a message,” Abbott said. “They want to keep Texas on the extraordinary path of opportunity that we have provided over the past eight years.” O’Rourke - who made high-profile, though unsuccessful, runs for Senate in 2018 and president...

NEW: Former Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke planning to run for Governor of Texas - @Axios

As violent crime spikes in some U.S. cities, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke claims a Republican Party “death cult mentality” is to blame. Speaking on MSNBC, O’Rourke, a Texas Democrat, was asked to comment on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott both recently calling for schools to reopen for the fall semester, despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The former lawmaker quickly pivoted from talking about the virus to talking about gun violence.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, profanely attacked President Trump's latest immigration order on social media Tuesday, rhetorically asking who the "f--k" Trump thinks is working on farms, processing plants, and other facilities. "Who the f--k do you think is working on the farms and feed lots, in the packing houses and processing plants at a time where we are struggling to feed ourselves?" O'Rourke asked on Twitter. "Who is in the kitchen? Who is picking, preparing, serving the food we eat and cleaning up afterwards?" The president announced late Monday he would sign an executive order to temporarily shut down immigration during the coronavirus pandemic, citing the need to...

With any luck at all, this will be the last time the Campaign Update ever pens a word about the Texas charlatan, Irish Bob O’Rourke, or, as we love to call him around our house, el Pendejo Grande. His friends call him “Beto,” but as the new USA Today/Suffolk poll released on Friday clearly shows, Irish Bob’s “friends” have all gone away now. O’Rourke came in at ZERO in that poll, after the last handful of fawning fake journalists at Vanity Fair and the Houston Chronicle finally turned their amorous eyes towards Preacher Pete Buttigieg, and it seems that may...

Former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas is dropping out of the presidential race, ending a campaign in which he struggled for months to recapture the energy of his insurgent 2018 Senate candidacy on a national stage full of other big personalities and liberal champions. Mr. O’Rourke made the decision to quit the race in the middle of this week, on the eve of a gathering Friday of Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa, according to people familiar with his thinking. He is not expected to run for any other office in 2020, despite persistent efforts by party leaders and political donors...

Just on the Five

Struggling presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke said he would use the criminal code to back up his proposal of confiscating AR-15s from law-abiding Americans.The former Texas congressman elaborated on his policy in a CBS News interview:"If we're able to pass mandatory buybacks and I'm able to sign that into law, then I fully expect our fellow Americans to turn in their AR-15s and their AK-47s."O'Rourke continued, adding that there would be criminal consequences if people refused to give up their weapons:

Beto O’Rourke said Thursday that he is returning to the presidential campaign trail for the first time since the Aug. 3 massacre of 22 people at a Walmart in his hometown of El Paso, but that the trail won’t take him to typical early-voting state venues. Instead, O’Rourke said he is heading to those places in America most victimized by President Donald Trump. “I want to be the kind of leader for this country El Paso has raised me and taught me to be,” O’Rourke said, speaking to a small audience of supporters and broadcast live on C-SPAN. “But as...

If his tax returns tell the story accurately, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, is a skinflint. In 2017, he and his wife claimed a total income of $370,412, according to the 10 years’ worth of tax returns they released this week. That same year, which is the most recent filing available, the O’Rourkes reported only $1,166 in charitable deductions. The former congressman and 2020 presidential candidate gave one-third of 1% of his total income to charity. In simpler terms, O’Rourke is a big time cheapskate. He does not see it that way, though. You see, running for office is itself...

… At a town hall in Iowa on Thursday, O’Rourke called out “the rhetoric of a president who not only describes immigrants as rapists and criminals but as animals and an infestation,” in response to a question on how he would address attacks from Republicans. The former congressman from Texas says, “Now, I might expect someone to describe another human being as an infestation in the Third Reich. I would not expect that in the United States of America.” …