Beto O'Rourke jumps into presidential race
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Former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke announced he is running for president, making it official with an online video released Thursday morning. Seated on a couch next to his wife, O'Rourke announced, "Amy and I are happy to share with you that I am running to serve you as the next president of the United States of America."
He said that the crises in our economy, democracy and climate "will either consume us or they will afford us the greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the United States of America." O'Rourke went through a list of Democratic priorities, including health care, climate change, family separation and criminal justice reform, gesturing or chopping with his hands to emphasize each point.
O'Rourke said that he plans to travel the country and "listen to those who I seek to serve, to understand from your perspective how we can best meet these challenges."
And he finished the 3 1/2-minute video by saying, "The only way for us to live up to the promise of America is to give it our all and give it for all of us. We are truly now, more than ever, the last great hope of Earth.
"At this moment of maximum peril and maximum potential let's show ourselves and those who will succeed us in this great country just who we are and what we can do."
The bid comes three and a half months after a narrow loss for Senate in Texas, a campaign that catapulted the 46-year-old, three-term lawmaker from El Paso to national prominence.
O'Rourke is heading to Iowa for several campaign events, including a stop at Northern Iowa University to stump for Eric Giddens, who is running for a special election for a state senate seat. At the end of the month, on Mar. 30, O'Rourke plans to return to El Paso to kick off his campaign.
The former congressman had been testing the waters for a presidential run in unconventional ways. He took a solo road trip through the Southwest earlier this year, documenting his travels in a series of Medium posts reminiscent of Jack Kerouac. He used Instagram and Facebook to stream conversations with people in his neighborhood and life, including a now famous stop at the dentist.
