DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke told none other than Oprah Winfrey, on a stage in New York's Time Square no less, that he's admitted to thinking about running for the presidency and will give his answer by the end of the month.
If he does, the El Paso Democrat, who served three terms in congress will join an ever growing field of Democrats with much more experience in the political arena.
O'Rourke's race against Senator Ted Cruz catapulted him into the national discussion. He lost, but by a narrow(er) margin than many expected, and along the way outraised Cruz in a race that spent over a hundred million dollars combined.
Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin says O'Rourke would have a better shot of winning if he again turned his sights on the US senate, this time against Senator John Cornyn who is up for re-election in 2020. He says Cruz "job approval numbers among Republicans are consistently higher than Cornyn's have been. So Cornyn comes to this certainly antagonizing Democrats less, but he also mobilizes Republicans less as well." Henson also notes 2020 is a presidential election year. "Democrats make up a larger part of the presidential year electorate in Texas, so basically O'Rourke starts with a higher baseline."
Henson also notes some Republican consultants are talking up O'Rourke as a presidential candidate. "It's strategic in the sense that its much better for Texas Republicans for Beto O'Rourke to step out on the national stage where his odds of success are much longer, than to stay in Texas and continue to mobilize Democratic voters in Texas elections."