O’Rourke bets national attention lifts him in Texas race
(AP) — If elections were decided by viral videos and fawning media profiles, Democrat Beto O’Rourke would win Texas’ Senate race in a landslide.
Video of the candidate defending NFL players’ right to protest during the national anthem had been viewed by millions even before NBA star LeBron James called it a “must-watch.” Another of O’Rourke, a three-term congressman, thrashing through a Whataburger parking lot on a skateboard is almost as popular, increasing the onetime punk rocker’s already considerable street cred.
National magazines are suggesting he could be a Democratic vice-presidential pick in 2020 — or even a White House contender, ala a young Barack Obama. Sure, O’Rourke may lose to incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the argument goes, but just staying competitive in Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly a quarter century, would still further boost his political star.
The White House is taking notice. President Donald Trump tweeted that he plans to stage “a major rally” for Cruz in October. Help from the president was long unthinkable in a race that for months looked like a Cruz cakewalk.
The hype machine powering O’Rourke has brought in piles of campaign cash and generated excitement nationally. But it also risks eventual backlash. Voters have often punished candidates for getting too big for their political britches — especially if they haven’t won anything yet. O’Rourke need only look to his opponent for an example of a politician whose ambitions irked voters he needed.
Still, the Democrat seems eager to test a Trump-era theory that, with such an outsized personality in the White House, voters may no longer want their politicians to stay humble.
O’Rourke has largely welcomed the spotlight. His stance on anthem protests landed him an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ TV show this week. O’Rourke also hasn’t disavowed descriptions of himself as “Kennedy-esque,” given his boyish good looks. He livestreams constantly and, in March, when he appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the crowd in Los Angeles cheered so much that the host crowed, “It’s like when the Beatles came to America.”
“You can’t control it,” O’Rourke spokesman Chris Evans said of the attention. He disputed the idea that national praise could hurt back home, saying it’s “hard to say we’re not focused on Texas” since O’Rourke just spent 34 days of the congressional summer recess campaigning without leaving the state.
