Beto O’Rourke is Running for President—Here’s What You Need to Know About Him

From Oprah Magazine

The 2020 race for the White House is ramping up, with an increasing number of political candidates announcing a bid. The latest? Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke is running for president, becoming the latest contender to join Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Julian Castro on the Democratic ticket.

In a YouTube video announcing his candidacy with his wife, Amy, at his wife, O’Rourke said: “This moment of peril produces perhaps the greatest moment of promise for this country and for everyone inside it.”

O'Rourke, 46, first made a name for himself when he attempted to unseat Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the Texas midterms in 2018. Though he was unsuccessful in clinching a victory over the Republican incumbent, O'Rourke still managed to galvanize Texans to the polls, resulting in a massive voter turnout among first-timers in select Texas counties like Travis, Dallas, and Harris.

He then O'Rourke garnered national attention with his grassroots campaign style. He used social media to document his statewide road trips from his minivan, and the Internet took notice. O'Rourke received small donations online that amounted to $38 million in three months. And he did it without the help of corporate donors or political action committees (also known as PACs).

In the time since his loss in November, O'Rourke has quickly garnered buzz as a Democratic presidential frontrunner for 2020. He continues to use his platform to articulate and clarify his stances on important issues dominating the news, hinting at his plans to run as recently as February during an interview with Oprah for an episode of SuperSoul Conversations in New York.

Here, 15 facts to know about the man oft compared to Robert F. Kennedy-and whom former president Barack Obama once hailed as "impressive."

He's a proud Texas native.

O'Rourke was born in El Paso, Texas on September 26, 1972. He lived in New York for seven years while attending Columbia University, where he majored in English literature and also served as captain of the heavyweight rowing team. Once he graduated from Columbia in 1995, O'Rourke worked as a live-in nanny for a New York City family before moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. However, the cost and commute of living in the city eventually had him longing to return to the Lone Star State.

"I just had this vision of being in my truck with the windows down," O'Rourke told The New York Times in a recent profile story. "I remember calling my folks that night, and I said, 'Hey, I think I’m going to come back.'"

He started his own tech company in Texas.

After O'Rourke moved back to his hometown in 1998, he co-founded Stanton Street Technology Group, an Internet services and technology company, in 1999. The company was sold in 2017.

He is married with three children.

O'Rourke married his wife, Amy O'Rourke (née Hoover Sanders), in 2005, and they have three children: Ulysses, 12, Molly, 10, and Henry, 8. O'Rourke's wife was president of his company, Stanton Street Technology Group, from January 2013 to April 2017.

His father was a politician.

Though O'Rourke isn't an heir-apparent candidate, he isn't the first in the family to have political aspirations. His dad, Patrick Francis O'Rourke, was a county commissioner and judge in El Paso, sparking O'Rourke to follow in his dad's footsteps by serving on El Paso's City Council from 2005 to 2011. O’Rourke was elected to Texas' 16th Congressional District in 2012, winning again in 2014 and 2016 before deciding to run for Senate in 2018.

Unfortunately, O'Rourke's father was killed in 2001 in a bicycle accident.

He’s hinted at running for president.

In November 2018, O'Rourke made it clear that he wouldn't rule out a 2020 presidential run. At a town hall meeting in El Paso, the three-term congressman was asked about his political future as president. While he maintained that his focus was on "being together as a family" and representing his constituents until his term ended in January, he confirmed that he and his wife would "think about what we can do next to contribute to the best of our ability to this community."

O'Rourke doubled down on his earlier pronouncement during his chat with Oprah in February.

"I want to make sure that [my wife] Amy and I, Ulysses, Molly, and Henry, our three kiddos who are 10, 12, and 8, we’re all good with this, we’re all on the same page," O'Rourke said.

Later, he added: "Amy and I have talked about, what are we going to be thinking on our death beds when we look back at our life? Will I be thinking about whether or not I ran for president when I had the opportunity, or will the first thought be my kids and whether we were there for them and helped them to become good human beings on this planet?"

His name became a source of controversy.

What’s in a name? Apparently, a lot when it comes to O’Rourke. Born Robert Francis O'Rourke, Cruz accused the then-Democratic challenger of changing his name to appeal to voters. (Ironic, considering Cruz himself goes by the first name "Ted," despite Rafael Edward Cruz being his birth name.) O'Rourke has since clarified that the name "Beto" was actually a nickname given to him when he was a kid.

And according to the El Paso Times newspaper, Montessori school officials confirmed that O'Rourke's name is listed as "Beto O'Rourke" in the school's roster. Still, it's prompted curiosity about his ethnicity, partly because "Beto" is a shortened moniker for Latinos with names like Roberto or Alberto, for example. Although he's fluent in Spanish and released the first-ever Spanish-language campaign ad in September 2018, O'Rourke, himself, is not of Hispanic or Latino origin. He is, however, of Irish descent.

He has a musical background.

Beyond delivering impassioned speeches and inspiring many with his progressive policies, O'Rourke also appealed to voters with his colorful past as a musician. Rolling Stone confirmed that O'Rourke formed the punk rock band, Foss, with three of his friends, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Arlo Klahr, and Mike Stevens. His instrument of choice? Bass guitar. Foss even released an extended play record (EP) on Soundcloud titled, The El Paso Pussycats, in 1993 while O'Rourke was enrolled at Columbia University.

He’s been arrested.

O'Rourke has been open about his past.

"Some 20 years ago, I was charged with driving under the influence and, during my college years, I jumped a fence at the University of Texas at El Paso which resulted in a burglary charge," O’Rourke told the Palestine Herald-Press in 2017. "I was not convicted of either. Both incidents were due to poor judgement and I have no excuse for my behavior then. However, since then, I have used my opportunities to serve my community and my state. I’m grateful for the second chance and believe that we all deserve second chances."

His favorite restaurant is Whataburger, and he loves donuts.

On the campaign trail in 2018, O'Rourke frequented the popular Texas eatery, Whataburger, and documented his fast-food exploits for fans on Facebook Live. Even though O'Rourke is lactose intolerant, he still can't resist ordering cheese on his burgers at Whataburger-and, well, skateboarding in the parking lot of the establishment.

Another one of his guilty pleasures? Doughnuts. He and his staff would often play a game of "Doughnut Roulette," where one person would select the flavor that everyone would eat on the road.

He takes his morning workouts seriously.

In case you were wondering how O'Rourke kept in shape going door-to-door in Texas during his Senate run-and while eating all those donuts and cheeseburgers-it's thanks to circuit training and calisthenics exercises.

He uses an unconventional style of campaigning.

There's a reason why O'Rourke supporters (and detractors) label him as "the Facebook candidate." Rather than spending money on the usual TV ads and organizing rallies on the road to raise money, O'Rourke turned to his Facebook account. There, he would deliver his message on the platform, live-streaming behind-the-scenes moments and highlighting conversations with Texas voters.

He even let Facebook audiences ride shotgun on his bipartisan road trip with Republican Congressman Will Hurd, where the two waxed on about politics, music, family, exes, and doughnuts. Oh, and as anyone might expect of the two Southerners: they also sung along to Johnny Cash, too.

He has quite a few celebrity fans.

The 2020 Democratic primary race is already shaping up to be a crowded and competitive field. But O'Rourke, fortunately, already has the celebrity endorsement. Texas native Beyoncé jumped on the fandom early during O'Rourke's race to the Senate, posting a photo of herself wearing a black-and-white baseball cap with the words "Beto for Senate" splashed across the front.

In addition, actresses Alyssa Milano, Busy Philipps, and Olivia Wilde have also publicly shown their support for a #Beto2020 ticket.

He supports American veterans.

Like most of the Democratic candidates, O'Rourke is an advocate for affordable health care, environmental protections, legal immigration, and safe gun laws. But where he stands out the most is the work he's done on veterans issues.

Some of the committees O'Rourke has served on include the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Not only has O'Rourke passed legislation to improve the accessibility of mental health care for former service members, but he also voted for a bill to make it easier for veterans to participate in apprenticeship training and receive their certification in a timely manner.

Do you have thoughts about the 2020 election? Let us know in the comments below.

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