AUSTIN — Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke announced Friday afternoon that he's ending his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

"Our campaign has been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly and acting decisively in the best interests of America," O'Rourke said in an email to supporters. "Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully.

"My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country."

O'Rourke, who served three terms representing El Paso, gave up his seat in Congress to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. The effort came up short, but he was tantalizingly close to becoming the first Texas Democrat to win a statewide election in nearly 25 years.

The campaign, which raised an eye-popping $80 million without the benefit of PAC money, made O'Rourke a national political celebrity. Instead of making an encore run for the Senate, this time against three-term Republican incumbent John Cornyn, O'Rourke decided to attempt to capitalize on his fame with a run for the White House.

A campaign aide said O'Rourke was not immediately available for an interview. But speaking with supporters and campaign aides after his announcement, O'Rourke said at an event carried live on his social media platforms he was "so proud of everything you have done."

"Those of you who have been knocking on doors for seven months in Iowa, making phone calls, inviting people into their own democracy, making sure that they have a voice, that they can stand up, that they can be counted," he said.

He started his campaign in March among the frontrunners, but his star power wilted as the Democratic field swelled. Several prominent Democrats had urged him to switch gears and make a second Senate bid, but he said it would be the presidency or nothing in 2020.

"Less than stellar rollout"

Before his announcement that he was folding the effort for good, O'Rourke's anemic polling made him a longshot to qualify for the next Democratic debate on Nov. 13.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said hindsight shows O'Rourke's bid for the White House was probably doomed from the start.

 

 

 

"It was early," Rottinghaus said in reference to the luster dulling on so-called "Beto-mania." "I would point to the less than stellar rollout, which nowadays can be the difference between finding an upward trajectory or a downward trajectory.

"It used to be the case that a dark horse could rise," he added. "That's not the way presidential politics are anymore. Now, you're either ascendant out of the gate or you're falling."

O'Rourke's strong showing against Cruz is credited for helping energize the long moribund Texas Democratic Party. With him leading the statewide ticket, Democrats were able to pick up 12 seats in the Texas House, plus to each in the state Senate and the Texas congressional delegation. 

Party leaders Friday acknowledged the excitement his 2018 bid gave to their cause.

“Beto O’Rourke is a fighter, advocate, and leader," said Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa. "In the wake of the El Paso shootings, he made the entire country proud as he focused his campaign on ending gun violence and the rise of white supremacy. We thank him for his service and leadership. He made Texas proud.

When 22 people were gunned down Aug. 3 in El Paso, O'Rourke placed his campaign on hold to return to his hometown to offer comfort to his community and to refocus his candidacy on the need to stop the proliferation of what he called "weapons of war" in the hands of civilians.

Trump takes a jab

President Donald Trump reacted with glee on Twitter, and took a sarcastic poke at the Texans in the process,

"Oh no, Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was 'born for this.'” the president said in the posting, "I don’t think so!"

O'Rourke's exit leaves just one Texas in the still-crowded Democratic field that is seeking to take on Trump one year from now. And that Texan, former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, was gracious in his reaction. In a tweet, Castro said he looks forward to O'Rourke's "continued leadership." 

"Beto has inspired millions of Americans all over our country, and rallied Texans and El Pasoans after the tragedy that struck his hometown," Castro, a former Obama administration Cabinet secretary, said. "I am thankful for his voice and his continued leadership, and I look forward to working together in whatever he chooses to do next."  

Rottinghaus said having the Texas Democratic landscape to himself might help Castro on the margins, but the probably not enough to shake up the race for the nomination.

"His campaign is a sort of on a respirator right now," Rottinghaus, noting that Castro has been polling below O'Rourke through much of the campaign. "But he's the only candidate who is left from a big state that's a difference-maker in 2020."

Desi Canela, a Democratic strategist who is not involved in the presidential race, said O'Rourke thrived when he had the field to himself in Texas. But that excitement in 2018 did not transfer to the national stage heading into 2020.

"I think Beto was a Texas brand," Canela said. "Nationwide Beto was like a watered-down version of Beto."

When O'Rourke announced his candidacy, he said he hoped to attempt to bring the country together and challenge "the fear that Donald Trump wants us to feel about one another."

"I knew, and I still know, that we can reject and overcome these fears and choose to instead be defined by our ambitions and our ability to achieve them," he said at the time.

Campaign volunteers had an emotional meeting in the O’Rourke campaign headquarters in El Paso on Friday afternoon. Volunteers declined to be interviewed by the El Paso Times and referred questions to communications director Rob Friedman.

Friedman did not immediately return phone calls for comment.