Not a whole lot of red lights: Beto ORourke leaning toward 2020 run

The former Texas congressmans radio silence is becoming increasingly awkward. By DAVID SIDERS 01/08/2019 07:15 PM EST Beto ORourke is leaning toward running for president according to four people who have spoken with him or his advisers in recent days. But for a presidential contender his radio silence is becoming increasingly awkward. In Iowa and New Hampshire where Democrats are accustomed to being courted aggressively by presidential contenders calls from Democratic Party organizers to ORourkes advisers go unreturned. And a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday that ORourke wont make any decision before February and is preparing for a solo road trip but avoiding early nominating states bewildered even his supporters. I have no idea what that is what that means what the strategy is" said Tyler Jones a Democratic strategist in South Carolina working on a campaign to draft ORourke into the presidential race. Betos always done things more unconventionally than other Democratic leaders so I think its very much on brand … Im sure he has a strategy and just because we dont know what it is doesnt mean its not a good one." ORourkes former chief of staff David Wysong has been speaking privately with Democratic strategists since November but without any definitive suggestion of the former Texas congressmans timing for a decision. ORourke himself spoke with former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley before OMalley endorsed him last week according to two sources familiar with the conversation. OMalleys office declined to comment on the call and ORourkes advisers did not respond to requests for comment. But following their discussion OMalley suggested to a former adviser that ORourke appeared to be leaning toward running. It sounds like hes seeing green and yellow lights and not a whole lot of red lights" said Boyd Brown a former South Carolina lawmaker and former Democratic National Committee member who is national senior adviser to a Draft Beto" campaign. In his own exchange of text messages with ORourke Brown said His response was very noncommittal … It was just Thanks a lot of decisions to be made a lot of discussions to be had." ORourkes reticence to engage publicly in the 2020 campaign could put him at a competitive disadvantage in Iowa where Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) drew overflow crowds as she touched off her presidential campaign over the weekend. Warren has already rolled out a team of four high-level Iowa staffers with extensive caucus experience. Other top-tier presidential contenders including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) toured Iowa last fall. Harris who also contributed $25000 to the state Democratic Party is about to embark on a national book tour; another likely candidate Julin Castro is preparing to formally announce his 2020 campaign on Saturday. Despite multiple invitations to ORourke to appear in Iowa we still havent heard anything" said Sean Bagniewski chairman of the Polk County Democrats. At this point I think a lot of folks are starting to assume that hes not getting in and move on to other people." If you want to win Iowa you have to come to Iowa" he said. I dont think ORourke has missed his window but its not just getting here. Before you get here you need to have a team who can get it together … Youre starting to miss the window on the major hires." Of ORourkes avoidance of early nominating states Bagniewski said Its strange … Its really strange." George Appleby a Des Moines-based attorney who has long been active in presidential campaigns in Iowa said Being on the ground in Iowa I feel the urgency for people to get in that maybe people outside of the state would not feel." Noting that the Iowa caucuses are only 13 months away and considering the amount of money that youre going to have to raise to be considered to be viable" Appleby said Boy oh boy it seems to me youve got to get here pretty soon." If he elects to run many supporters of ORourke believe the timing now could be fortuitous for a border-state Democrat with the government shutdown focusing attention of immigration and President Donald Trumps proposed border wall. ORourke has maintained a visible presence on the issue though only in Texas since the November elections walking across the border from El Paso to Juarez to meet with asylum seekers and visiting a detention camp for migrant children at Tornillo. On Christmas Eve he was photographed passing out pizza slices to immigrant children in El Paso. Over the holidays ORourke spent time with his wife and children in New Mexicos Sierra Blanca mountain range posting photographs on Instagram of them building an igloo. Amys sitting next to me on the couch as we try to stay up to midnight" he wrote. She asked me if I remembered where we were last year at this time. Wed just finished a week on the road in west Texas Rankin Odessa Aspermont Sterling City Colorado City Big Spring Anson Guthrie and after Amarillo we drove west to her parents place in New Mexico to spend New Years Eve. The next year 2018 felt like 10 years. It felt like no time at all. So much happened met so many amazing people traveled so many thousands of miles. Got to be part of something so special... very grateful for this past year and for everyone who was a part of it. Heres to 2019!" With ORourkes seeming lack of urgency supporters are ratcheting up their efforts to draft him into the race and to prepare a national infrastructure for him should he decide to run. On Monday a Draft Beto" campaign announced the addition of strategists to its effort in the early nominating states of South Carolina and Nevada. In addition to Brown Jones who worked as a chief strategist for Joe Cunninghams stunning upset victory in a congressional race last year will be the groups South Carolina state director and officials said they are interviewing strategists in Iowa and New Hampshire as well. Well treat this like a presidential campaign until I hear otherwise" Brown said. He called ORourkes road trip a good indication that hes looking at doing this." A little out of the ordinary" he said. But … this guys got this thing figured out better than I do. Who am I to judge?" ORourke told an audience in El Paso before he left Congress that he would turn to Medium as his venue for engaging with the public as a private citizen. His campaign infrastructure is so minimal that associates half-expect that he would drop any announcement without warning. But the signals he has sent so far are few. In New Hampshire attorney and Democratic activist Jay Surdukowski who co-chaired OMalleys 2016 presidential campaign in the state said Democrats are so spoiled. Were used to people hounding us not the other way around." But he said most other 2020 candidates are not coming off an all-consuming Senate run as ORourke is. Im willing to cut him a lot of slack. He just came off a two-year slog" Surdukowski said. Hes still in that kind of magic window where he could still make a splash."