Beto O'Rourke: Where He Stands

Within a year, Beto O'Rourke went from a little-known congressman to a Democratic rock star on the verge of turning deep-red Texas blue in 2018. But in the crowded race for the White House, O'Rourke is trying to remind Democrats why they were excited about him in the first place.

O'Rourke represented the small El Paso-based district for five years as a small fish in a big congressional delegation and mostly kept his head down. But his decision to mount a long-shot challenge against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz quickly propelled him to the national stage and gave Texas Democrats their best chance at winning a statewide race in more than two decades.

After a close, but unsuccessful campaign for the Senate, O'Rourke was out of a job and his name almost immediately circulated as a potential candidate for president. O'Rourke's allies launched an outside group to draft him into the race and gauge excitement for a 2020 bid.

But the star-power appeared to fade once he joined the crowded Democratic primary. He endured more scrutiny in the first few days of his nascent 2020 campaign than during his entire Senate run. His cover story in Vanity Fair where O'Rourke declared he was "born to be in it" rubbed some Democrats the wrong way. He was scrutinized for not offering policy plans or taking vague positions. But he kept up his style of campaigning by barnstorming the country, standing on tables to address large crowds and speaking candidly on tough issues.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/elections/beto-orourke