Politico does a piece today on the ground swell of attention the young Democrat is generation in red state Texas’s US Senate race….
Ah?
We’ve been here before….
A few years back we had ground swell thing for a Democratic woman trying to beat a Republican for governor in Texas….
Despite all the media attention and adulation?
She lost….
Excuse me?
But Texas is STILL a strong red state….
Beto is gonna need a miracle of Democratic votes actually coming out to vote and Republicans down there finding other things to do besides coming out to vote….
Beto O’Rourke is running to replace Ted Cruz. Literally. Sweat pours off his lean, 6’ 4”-frame as the El Paso Democrat jogs along the southern bank of the Trinity River surrounded by 300-odd supporters and curious voters jogging along with him. Incredibly, they have shown up at 8 a.m. on a Sunday to join him for a double shot of politics and cardio. In between panting breaths, O’Rourke explains to me the origins of this novel campaign event, which has him running several miles under the Texas sun, stopping in the middle to take questions and lingering at the end to pose for selfies. “Some sadistic member of our team,” he recalls, “was like, ‘So we’re doing like six town halls a day in six different counties. We’re driving hundreds of miles every day, we’re visiting all 254 counties. What more could we do? Ah, get up earlier and have running town halls.’”
This, in short, is how O’Rourke plans to pull off his longshot bid to take away Cruz’s Senate seat: by outhustling his opponent. O’Rourke, a third-term congressman, often boasts that he has hired no consultants or pollsters. He is his own strategist, and his strategy is simple: campaign relentlessly, project vitality and hope his raw charisma combines in just the right proportion with anti-Cruz animus, Texas’s changing demographics and national Democratic momentum to put him over the top.
It’s a lot to hope for. Cruz is among the country’s shrewdest politicians. He may be reviled in Washington and on the left, but his approval rating remains above water in most polls of Texas, which has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988. Liberals have been fantasizing about turning the state blue for a decade, to no avail. And Cruz retains a double-digit lead in recent polls….
More…
image of Cruz and O’Rourke…Daily Beast
O’Rourke is the underdog but I think he’ll do quite a bit better than Wendy Davis. 2014 was a much tougher year for Democrats than 2018 is looking to be and Cruz is not terribly popular. Of course Texas is still a red state and flipping a Senate seat there now is still a tall order.
Will Lyin’ Ted win again ??
Only 120 campaigning days until the Election.
Interesting from RRH….
….’: Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) continues to turn heads with his refusal to endorse Gina Ortiz Jones (D) in her race against Rep. Will Hurd (R). O’Rourke has pledged to remain neutral in the race since his roadtrip to DC with the Republican congressman from the district next door. As an aside, locally I have been incredibly impressed by O’Rourke’s local grassroots field organization. This race is a sleeper I’m keeping my eye on. O’Rourke should not win, but I would not be shocked to see a late NRSC cash-infusion here if Beto’s poll numbers catch up with his organization.’….
Source…
via twitter…
Larry Sabato
@LarrySabato
New Q poll, TX Senate, Cruz 49% O’Rourke 43%. May 30 poll had Cruz ahead by larger 50-39%. This is one of the 2 or 3 races I’m most asked about. Cruz is certainly the favorite but there is D upset potential. Most upsets never happen—but a few shockers every election year.