Unable To Maintain The Enthusiasm Of His 2018 Senate Race ORourke Drops Presidential Bid

Mike Norris Co-Editor The American Dossier On Friday former Rep. Robert Francis Beto" ORourke (D-TX) announced that he was ending his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. The campaign stated that it had explored all options including the possibility of seeking public financing before concluding that the candidate would not have the money to compete with his top-tier rivals. ORourkes sudden fall was in stark contrast to the enthusiasm that surrounded his 2018 Senate bid. When ORourke launched his improbable Senate campaign he was little-known even within his own party. Despite being a third-term Congressman ORourke was not recruited by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to run against Ted Cruz (R-TX). In spite of the lack of early support ORourke would go on to raise more than $80 million in his Senate race. Ultimately he would lose to Cruz by 2.6. Buoyed by the strong performance of his Senate bid ORourke was encouraged to run against President Trump in 2020. In December he met privately with former President Barack Obama who encouraged him to run. In early February he teased a run while being interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. Beyonc wore a Beto baseball cap on Instagram. LeBron James wore the same hat to a game in San Antonio. But ORourke would be unable to replicate the enthusiasm he garnered during his run for Senate. His first significant misstep came while he was still deciding if he would even run for president. Set to announce his run for the presidency ORourke agreed to be interviewed by Vanity Fair. That interview led to a March cover story with a pull quote from ORourke saying Man Im just born to be in it." He was not as it turned out born to be in it. ORourkes next unforced error came during his first Iowa trip when he joked that his wife Amy was at home in El Paso raising their three children sometimes with my help. ORourke would later admit that the Vanity Fair cover was a mistake but by then the damage was done. The interview and the joke about his wife fueled the perception that ORourke was entitled and hadnt earned his way into the upper echelon of 2020 Democratic contenders. None of that slowed him at first. On his first day as a presidential candidate ORourke raised a staggering $6.1 million pacing Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Vice President Joe Biden. ORourke was polling in double digits. The early enthusiasm would quickly fade. ORourke it seemed did not know what exactly he stood for. Insider accounts confirmed that ORourke could never really find a clear reason why he was in the race and he did not have a clear agenda in mind. His platform was mostly that he wanted to be president and felt like he was the sort of person who should be president. The early debates did not help. In June ORourke appeared stunned when he was pummeled by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julin Castro over immigration. Strong performances by other candidates such as South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg further diminished ORourkes spotlight. Then ORourkes fundraising ground to a halt. In the second quarter his campaign raised just $3.6 million. His poll numbers dipped into the low single digits. He continued to fade as the summer wore on. In August ORourke stepped off the campaign trail for 12 days following the mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso. The tragedy gave ORourke the signature issue he previously lacked: gun control. In mid-August ORourke returned to the campaign trail with for the first time an animating cause for his candidacy. In the September presidential debate ORourke advocated confiscation of semi-automatic rifles: Hell yes were going to take your AR-15 your AK-47 he said. His provocative rhetoric backfired and drew condemnation from a number of Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) who said ORourke was making it harder to get Republicans on board with gun control measure that had a shot at passing. The moment provided a short-term fundraising boost to ORourkes campaign as he finished the third quarter stronger than the second raising $4.5 million. It wasnt enough though as his campaign spent nearly $6.5 million. ORourke ended the quarter with approximately $3.3 million in the bank positioning him well behind the top-tier contenders. Sanders by comparison reported approximately $33.7 million on hand while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reported just under $23.4 million on hand. His poll numbers remained in the low-single digits raising the prospect that ORourke could miss the Democratic National Committees increased qualifying threshold for the November debate stage. Headed into the final stretch before the Iowa caucuses the writing was on the wall and ORourke finally acknowledged the reality he faced. On Thursday ORourkes campaign manager began informing senior staffers. On Friday ORourke told his full staff the news on a conference call. By Friday at 5:30 p.m. Central time ORourke arrived at the Iowa Democrats Liberty and Justice dinner to tell his supporters the news: he was dropping out of the race. The man whod been a fundraising genius just a year ago could not raise enough money to go on. President Trump quickly weighed in on the development. Oh did you hear? Beto Trump asked supporters at a campaign rally in Mississippi. Oh that poor bastard. Poor pathetic guy. He was pathetic." ORourke joins more than a half-dozen candidates who have dropped out of the race this year including Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio. After serving as an Airborne Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division Mike attended Florida State University where he received his Bachelors Degree in Political Science and George Washington University where he received his Masters in Political Management. Mike is currently attending the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law where he is pursuing his Juris Doctorate. Since 2004 Mike has worked in the Florida Senate where he was one of only two Chiefs of Staff under 30 and in the Michigan Senate where he served as the Legislative Aide to the Assistant Minority Floor Leader. The 2018 election cycle was Mikes eighth as a Political Consultant. Mike previously served as the Secretary and Vice President of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans Regional Vice Chair for the Florida Federated Young Republicans and attended the 2012 Republican National Convention as an Alternate Delegate. He currently lives in Grosse Pointe Woods Michigan with his rescue Pit Bull Ike. http://www.whitefalconconsult.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/norrismichaelj/