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Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign, 2020

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2020 Presidential Election
Date: November 3, 2020
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Beto O'Rourke suspended his presidential campaign on November 1, 2019.


“ This is a defining moment of truth for this country and for every single one of us. The challenges that we face right now—the interconnected crises in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been greater. And they will either consume us or they will afford us the greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the United States of America.[1] ”
—Beto O'Rourke (March 2019)[2]


Robert "Beto" O'Rourke, a former U.S. representative from Texas, announced he was running for president of the United States on March 14, 2019.

In his first campaign video, O'Rourke discussed "investing in the dignity of work," establishing universal healthcare, and combating climate change. He also said of immigration, "If immigration is a problem, it's the best possible problem for this country to have and we should ensure that there are lawful paths to work, to be with family, and to flee persecution."[2]

O'Rourke served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. He ran for U.S. Senate against incumbent Ted Cruz (R) in 2018, losing by 2 percentage points.

Click here to read O'Rourke's responses to Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

O'Rourke in the news

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing and Editorial approach to story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing

This section featured five news stories about O'Rourke and his presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of O'Rourke's campaign activity, click here.

  • November 1, 2019: O'Rourke announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race. “My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee,” he said in a Medium post.
  • October 28, 2019: O'Rourke released his criminal justice plan, which would repeal portions of the 1994 crime bill, eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing, and invest $500 million into developing alternatives to incarceration.
  • October 27, 2019: In an interview on Insiders, O'Rourke discussed his campaign strategy and reduced presence in Iowa.
  • October 24, 2019: O'Rourke attended a televised town hall on Latino issues hosted by LULAC and Newsmax.


Biography

Beto O'Rourke was born in 1972 and grew up in El Paso, Texas. His father, Patrick O'Rourke, served as a Democratic county commissioner and judge. Beto earned a bachelor's degree in English from Columbia University in 1995.

O'Rourke worked several jobs in New York, including as an art mover, nanny, and proofreader for publisher H.W. Wilson Company before returning to El Paso in 1998. He co-founded the IT consulting company Stanton Street before running for public office.[3]

In 2005, O'Rourke was elected to the El Paso City Council, where he served until 2011. He ran to represent Texas' 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2012, defeating eight-term incumbent Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary with 51 percent of the vote and winning the general election with 65 percent. He served in the House until 2019.

O'Rourke challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in the U.S. Senate election for Texas in 2018, losing by 2 percentage points. O'Rourke raised more than $80 million for his bid—the most that had been raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in history.[4]

Campaign staff

See also: Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign staff, 2020, Presidential election key staffers, 2020, and Presidential campaign managers, 2020

The table below shows a sampling of the candidate's 2020 national campaign staff members, including the campaign manager and some senior advisors, political directors, communication directors, and field directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.[5] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.

Beto O'Rourke presidential campaign national staff, 2020
Staff Position Prior experience Twitter handle
Jennifer O'Malley Dillon Campaign manager Deputy campaign manager, Barack Obama for President of the United States, 2012 @jomalleydillon
Rob Friedlander Communications director Senior advisor, Beto O'Rourke for United States Senate, 2018 @robsfriedlander
Aleigha Cavalier National press secretary Communications director, NextGen America @aleighacavalier
Adnan Mohamed Political director Deputy political director, Seth Moulton presidential campaign, 2020 @AdnanFMohamed
Dan Sorenson Finance director National finance director, John Hickenlooper presidential campaign, 2020 @dan_sorenson
Lauren Brainerd Organizing director Field director, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, 2018 @LB_WIT



Campaign finance

The following chart shows Democratic presidential campaign fundraising, including both total receipts and contributions from individuals, as well as campaign spending. Figures for each candidate run through the end of June 2020 or through the final reporting period during which the candidate was actively campaigning for president. The total disbursements column includes operating expenditures, transfers to other committees, refunds, loan repayments, and other disbursements.[6]


Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[7][8][9]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows a sampling of advertisements released to support or oppose this candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

"A New Kind of Politics" - O'Rourke campaign, June 28, 2019

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Beto O'Rourke completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by O'Rourke's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Beto is a fourth-generation Texan, born and raised in El Paso. He has been a small business owner, a city councilmember, a U.S. Congressman, and a candidate for U.S. Senate who won more votes than any Democrat in Texas history. Now he is running for president because he believes we need to fight for America, everyone in America. Beto wants to be the leader for this country that we need right now and that we do not have. Someone who will do everything within their power to bring us together; someone who doesn't inflame, but instead heals; someone who doesn't work with fear but instead inspires hope. He is married to Amy and they have three children.
  • Beto will ensure every American can live to their full potential because they have the health care, the education, the access to a high-quality job that pays a living wage, and the access to equal opportunity that they need to fully thrive.
  • Beto will bring a deeply divided country back together again and ensure this country finally works for everyone.
  • This is a campaign that will always fight for people. We will put people over corporations, people over PACs, people over politics, and people over special interests.
- Achieving guaranteed, universal, high-quality health care for every person in this country so that everyone can see a doctor, afford their prescriptions, and get the care they need.

- Tackling climate change by ending our dependence on fossil fuels, advancing renewable energy jobs and technologies, and investing in poor and minority communities that bear the brunt of climate change. Rewriting our immigration laws based on our values and interests.

- Reforming our gun laws to implement a national licensing system; ban assault weapons and implement a mandatory buyback program; require universal background checks; close loopholes; enact a federal extreme risk protection order; invest in communities that have experienced the trauma of gun violence; and invest in research to prevent gun violence.

- Passing a new VRA that banishes big money from our politics, ends gerrymandering, combats discriminatory voter ID laws, and enacts universal same-day and automatic voter registration.

- Ensuring an economy that works for all, by raising the minimum wage to $15 dollars, investing in high skill jobs, protecting workers' right to organize, closing gaps in education funding, tackling the student debt crisis, and investing in communities.

- Reforming our criminal justice system, fighting for equal pay for women, passing the Equality Act, providing access to capital for all communities, and aggressively addressing racial disparities in all our public programs.
Beto's personal heroes are his family; his kids, his wife Amy, and his parents. They are the strongest people he knows, they're his role models, his inspiration, and his reasons for running for President.

The community of El Paso has also been a hero of Beto's, especially after their response to a tragic shooting in August that killed 22 people. They have shown strength and courage in how they have taken care of each other and healed.

Beto's political hero is Abraham Lincoln; he faced the toughest test this country has ever seen and brought the country through it.
Elected officials should always put people ahead of special interests while working each day to serve, represent, and fight for everyone in this country.
Whether it was on the City Council or in Congress, Beto has shown he will fight for everyone. His experience living in the diverse community of El Paso also gives him the background to a variety of issues that this country is currently focused on. Beto always does the right thing no matter the political consequences, which is key to returning our democracy to the people instead of following the pollsters, special interests, and lobbyists that too often call the shots.
Beto wants to make the country better for every single person so every one of us can live to our full potential and thrive. That means expanding health care, fighting the threat of climate change head on, giving everyone a shot in this economy, and ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Beto worked in his mother's furniture store, a small business in El Paso. He would later work in the library during college and at a furniture moving business. Beto later started his own small technology business that brought high-skill, high-wage jobs to El Paso.
Beto's favorite book is the Odyssey.
Beto's favorite band is the Clash.
Beto will immediately take action to address climate change; reverse Trump's cruel policies towards immigrants and protect DREAMers; support workers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and grow the economy; protect a women's right to choose; protect the rights of all people to love -- free from discrimination; make hate crimes a law enforcement priority, while acting swiftly to curb the epidemic of gun violence and to tackle racial disparities in law enforcement. Beto will cancel the blank check on endless war and reassert our country's role on the global stage, no longer alienating our partners, or squandering the standing we earned over decades.
Beto will fix our democracy and return power to people while bringing this deeply divided and highly polarized country together. Only then we will be able to accomplish our common goals--universal health care, an economy that works for everyone where one job is enough because it pays a living wage, immigration laws that match our values, an end to a gun violence epidemic that takes the lives of 40,000 Americans a year, a high-quality public education system and affordable higher education, a criminal justice system that is finally just, and a more equitable country where everyone can live with dignity and respect.
Beto believes that the 28th Amendment to the Constitution should be the Equal Rights Amendment. He believes the 29th Amendment should overturn Citizens' United. The 30th Amendment should place term limits on Justices of the Supreme Court.
Polling has shown that there's strong support for a mandatory buyback of assault weapons across this country. Americans agree that these weapons of war have no place on our streets. But still the vast majority of Beto's Democratic primary opponents, as well as members of Congress and state and local leaders are failing to comment on the issue or have opposed. This position will not harm the discussion on gun control, but rather advance it. As a party, Beto recognizes that we cannot afford to take anything off the table. He understands the urgency behind ending a gun violence epidemic that has taken the lives of nearly 40,000 Americans a year. That's why Beto released the most ambitious plan in the race to reduce gun violence. His plan would implement universal background checks, close every loophole, pass Extreme Risk Protection Orders, also known as red flag laws so people who may be at risk to harm themselves or others don't have access to firearms, increase trauma support, and keep weapons of war off our streets by not only banning the sale of assault weapons but implementing a mandatory buyback of every single one of them. If we don't get these weapons of war out of our communities, then they'll continue showing up in our schools, our places of worship, our movie theaters, our concerts, and our malls.
Beto's political hero is Abraham Lincoln; he faced the toughest test this country has ever seen and brought the country through it.
The Democrat field all recognizes the urgency in enacting comprehensive gun control reform, and Beto appreciates the conversation that all of the candidates are having around this issue. But Beto has proposed going farther than any of the other candidates. Along with his plan to implement universal background checks, close every loophole, pass Extreme Risk Protection Orders, increase trauma support, and keep weapons of war off our streets by not only banning the sale of assault weapons but implementing a mandatory buyback of every single one of them, he has directly called on credit card companies to take steps to help prevent mass shootings. This includes calling on them to refuse to provide their services for the sale of assault weapons; refuse to provide their services for the sale of firearms online or at gun shows, where background checks are not required; and to stop doing business with gun or ammunition manufacturers who produce or sell assault weapons. He is the first, and so far the only candidate to directly call out credit card companies for their role in mass shootings and gun sales.
On August 3, in his home city of El Paso, 22 people were killed and dozens more were grievously injured with an assault weapon. This weapon of war has no place in our society. Beto previously supported an assault weapons ban, while allowing responsible gun owners to keep their assault weapons, but following the tragedy in El Paso, he determined that this was no longer acceptable. It is not enough to ban the weapons, but we need to ensure that they will be off the street. As President, Beto will directly address the gun violence epidemic by working with Congress to implement a national licensing system and universal background checks, ban assault weapons, and institute a mandatory buyback program for assault weapons and a voluntary buyback program for handguns. Beto will also close loopholes and support Extreme Risk Protection Order laws. Beto will declare our gun violence epidemic a public health emergency and invest in CDC research into gun violence. He will also address the root causes of hate and white nationalism that are fueling many of the mass shootings and tragedies across the country.
Beto's Vice President and Cabinet will reflect the diversity and range of experiences of the United States of America. We need a team that not only uniquely understands the challenges this country faces but how to address them in a way that brings all Americans into the solutions.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Policy positions

The following policy positions were compiled from the candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews.

Immigration

Beto O'Rouke's campaign website says, "On day one, he will end child detention; reunite families; ensure separation never happens again; and remove the fear of deportation for Dreamers and their parents. He’ll also expedite the naturalization process for the 9 million immigrants already eligible for citizenship; create a pathway to earned citizenship for America’s 11 million undocumented residents; and partner with our neighbors to restore regional security—all while ensuring we remain a nation of laws."

Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Take immediate executive action to reverse President Trump’s policies, including family separation, metering, “Remain in Mexico,” as well as his denial of protection for women and children fleeing domestic violence and escaping from deadly gangs; and his Muslim Ban. Rescinding the current administration’s executive orders that seek to maximize detention and deportation. Immediately remove the fear of deportation for Dreamers and their parents and Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure beneficiaries, and begin work towards a permanent legislative solution. Create an earned pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people that includes an immediate path for Dreamers and beneficiaries of programs like the Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure programs. Partner with others in the region to invest in economic development and stop violence and corruption." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Healthcare

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says, "Beto’s plan would dramatically reduce out of pocket expenses and eliminate deductibles for Medicare participants—and it would ensure everyone who wants to enroll in Medicare can do so, without eliminating employer sponsored insurance. That’s because Beto believes health care—including reproductive and mental health care—is a right, not a privilege."

Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "If you don’t have health care—or you’re insufficiently covered—you will be enrolled in Medicare. If you want to be enrolled in Medicare, you can be. If your employer offers a private insurance plan, you can participate in that. You will not be discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition. Allow drug importation from Europe and Canada and modify regulations to get generics on the market faster. Appoint Supreme Court Justices and federal court judges who respect Roe as the settled law of the land. Addressing maternal health deserts—which impact more than 5 million women—through Title X and the National Health Service Corps." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Energy and environmental issues

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says,"Beto’s plan includes the world’s largest-ever climate change investment in infrastructure, innovation, and in our people and communities; creates an enforceable standard that guarantees that we reach net-zero emissions by 2050—and get halfway there by 2030; and defends the communities preparing for and fighting against extreme weather."

Some of the proposals listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement and lead negotiations for a more ambitious global plan by 2030. Cut methane emissions from existing sources in the oil and natural gas industry. Leverage $500 billion to decarbonize across all sectors, create unprecedented access to technologies for farmers and ranchers to profit from reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and set a carbon budget for federal lands to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. Mobilize $5 trillion to combat climate change, with significant investments in infrastructure, innovation, and our people and communities. Rigorously measure progress, scaling what works and scrapping what doesn’t. Enforce our laws to hold polluters accountable. Implement a ten-fold increase on spending for pre-disaster mitigation grants. Invest $1.2 trillion in the people and communities impacted by the effects of climate change." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Trade

Beto O'Rourke wrote in a Medium post, "As President, Beto will: End Trump’s trade war. Defend American values and interests against competitors like China. Pursue trade agreements that support working families. Work to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. workers and small businesses."

O'Rourke's policies included the following: "Suspend Trump’s tariffs immediately. Modernize the World Trade Organization to address 21st century trade issues.Screening and potentially limiting Chinese investment in certain U.S. sectors until it ends its most egregious anti-competitive practices. Investing in the analysis needed to detect currency manipulation. Negotiate trade agreements with strong labor and environmental standards. Reverse Trump’s tax bill rewarding companies who shift jobs overseas." [source, as of 2019-08-29]

Economy

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says the following: "Beto has a plan to return our economy to the people, so we have a minimum wage that’s a living wage, health care for all, a tax code that gives a break to the middle class, and unions that have the power to organize. In Beto’s administration, everyone will participate in the economy—and it won’t only be the world’s biggest economy, but the greatest."

Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Investing in our crumbling infrastructure, improving our airports, increasing access to mass transit, expanding access to rural broadband, and modernizing our water infrastructure. Fighting for a $15 Minimum Wage. Creating clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience jobs as part of our $5 trillion investment in combating climate change. Direct $100 billion in government contracts to small businesses, with half that opportunity going to women and minority entrepreneurs. Impose a 0.1% financial transaction tax and use the revenue to support educational equity programs while also cutting down destabilizing speculation of high frequency traders. Signing into law a bill he cosponsored as a member of Congress called the Social Security 2100 Act. Signing into law the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). Overturning “right-to-work” laws. Close a pay gap which is disproportionately impacting women of color by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. Expand access to affordable child care by increasing funding for the Child Care Block grant." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Education

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website summarizes his education plan in the following way: "ensuring access to preschool for all; creating a permanent fund for equity and excellence to ensure families have access to high-quality public schools, regardless of where they live, their race, or how much money they have; increasing teacher pay, supporting diversity in the teaching profession; closing the achievement gap: ending the schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline; and making sure every American can pursue higher-education without drowning in debt."

Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Achieve a system of universal pre-K. Invest in home-visiting programs. Ensure access to affordable, high quality childcare by increasing funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant and expanding the Child Care Tax Credit, making it refundable. Support increased wages for those working in early childhood education and care and provide loan forgiveness for early childhood educators. Immediately forgive outstanding student loan debt for public educators tax-free. Appoint a Secretary of Education who has a background in public education. Develop a $500 billion Permanent Fund for Equity and Excellence in Education with the goal of closing funding gaps based on race and income. Issuing a federal ban on the use of corporal punishment in schools, which is disproportionately used on black students and students with disabilities." Under the heading "College [source, as of 2019-08-28]

Gun regulation

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says, "Beto will end the epidemic of gun violence in America by implementing universal background checks, which have been proven to reduce violence; closing loopholes, like the Boyfriend Loophole and Charleston Loophole, so domestic abusers can’t possess deadly weapons and the FBI has the time it needs to conduct background checks; keeping weapons of war on the battlefield, so they’re not trained against our communities; passing red flag laws, so people who have a tendency to harm themselves or others don’t have access to firearms; and addressing existing suffering, by increasing trauma support."

Some of the policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Reverse the Trump administration’s policy of allowing fugitives to purchase guns. End influence of NRA in stifling progress on gun violence prevention. Create a nationwide gun licensing system and registry. Require universal background checks at point of purchase. Ban Assault Weapons, Trigger Cranks, Silencers, Bump Stocks, and High-Capacity Magazines. Implement Extreme Risk Protection Orders, also known as Red Flag Laws. Close loopholes, like the Boyfriend Loophole, gun show loophole, online loophole, and the Charleston Loophole. Declare gun violence a public health emergency. Make gun trafficking a federal crime. Increasing trauma support. Repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act." [source, as of 2019-08-28]

Criminal justice

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says, "His plan will end the prohibition of marijuana and expunge the arrest records of those incarcerated for possessing it; end cash bail; end mandatory minimums; eliminate private and for-profit prisons; ensure police are accountable for civil rights violations; provide more funding for public defenders; and ensure the formerly incarcerated have a path to re-enter our communities."

O'Rourke's plan includes the following points: "End the federal prohibition of marijuana, and expunge the records of those who were arrested for possessing it. End the cash bail system, reducing pre-trial detention and increasing funding for public defenders. Stop the use of mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses. Eliminate private and for-profit prisons. Restorative justice programs that assist with successfully transitioning formerly incarcerated individuals back into communities. Ensure those who are incarcerated receive health care in prison. Ban the box so that a conviction does not stand in the way of a successful transition out of incarceration. Make federal scholarships like Pell Grants available to incarcerated individuals. Ensure police accountability through federal civil rights enforcement, supporting community policing. Restore the right to vote for those who have served their terms and invest in restorative justice programs that assist with successfully transitioning formerly incarcerated individuals back into communities." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Foreign policy

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website contains a national security plan that states the following: "Our power rests in our unyielding commitment to our values and our leadership at home and abroad. And as the world creeps towards authoritarianism, we need to defend those values—now more than ever—not with unnecessary wars, but with bold leadership on the international stage."

O'Rourke's website continues, "That means standing up against the rise of authoritarianism around the world and protecting our democracy from interference here at home; focusing on diplomacy, development, and defense, rather than supporting brutal campaigns like Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen; restoring our relationships with our allies, instead of cozying up to dictators; and reestablishing our leadership of our own Hemisphere by investing in stability and peace in Central America—and combating hate crimes here at home." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Impeachment

Beto O'Rourke tweeted, "We have a lawless president, who has undermined our democracy; a racist president, who has incited violence; a reckless president, who has let our planet burn and fleeced taxpayers for his own benefit. To my former colleagues in Congress: Finish the job and impeach him." [source, as of 2019-09-24]

Other policy positions

Click on any of the following links to read more policy positions from the 2020 presidential candidates.

Abortion

Criminal justice

Economy

Education

Energy and environmental issues

Foreign policy

Gun regulation

Healthcare

Immigration

Impeachment

Labor

Trade


Campaign themes

The following campaign themes and issues were published on O'Rourke's presidential campaign website:[10]

“

On Healthcare

So if we believe in universal, guaranteed, high quality healthcare – because we see the consequences to our fellow Americans who go without – then let us come together around a policy that prioritizes affordability of prescription drugs, lowers the costs of premiums and ensures that in a country where one of the largest providers of mental health care services is our county jail system, a country where we have a maternal mortality crisis that is 3x as deadly for women of color — that universal healthcare means everyone gets primary healthcare, mental healthcare — and universal also means every woman makes her own decisions about her own body.

We can give every American and every business the choice to enroll in Medicare without eliminating plans that many Americans like for their families because they work for their families. This means every one of us is able to afford our prescriptions, see a doctor, take our children to a therapist. No one priced out. No one denied care. No one left behind. The goal of universal, guaranteed high-quality health care must be achieved as quickly and as surely as possible.

On Education

If we believe in an economy that works for all, then let us invest in a world-class Pre-k through 12 public education system and ensure that we are paying our educators a living wage so that they don’t have to work a second or third job.

Let’s graduate young women and men from high school who are career ready as well as college ready, able to pursue debt-free higher education or a job that provides purpose and a real paycheck.

On Unions

Let’s strengthen unions and ensure a path to apprenticeships and careers. Guarantee that one job is enough by paying every working American a true living wage.

Let’s partner with rural communities on infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and broadband internet.

Let’s make sure farmers can make a profit while they grow the food and fiber that feeds and clothes not just this country, but so much of the world.

Let’s give them access to technologies and markets that make solving climate change a source of new income.

On Equality

Let’s ensure everyone can succeed regardless of their family dynamics, their gender, their sexual orientation or their race. Paid family leave. Equal pay for women. No discrimination in the workplace, and access to capital for communities that have been effectively shut out of capital, home loans and wealth for generations.

On Criminal Justice Reform

If we believe in real criminal justice reform in the face of the largest prison population on the face of the planet — one disproportionately comprised of people of color — let us not just end the prohibition of marijuana, or the expungement of the records of those arrested solely for possession of a substance legal in most of this country — let’s go beyond ending cash bail, prisons for profit and the war on drugs and confront the true legacy of slavery, of segregation and suppression, of how people have been criminalized and kept down based on their race and ethnicity. Only that truth will allow us to begin to repair the damage done and keep us from repeating the same injustices.

On Immigration

If we believe that this country’s success is premised on the fact that immigrants and asylum seekers from the world over have found a home here, then let us forever free Dreamers from any fear of deportation by making them U.S. citizens. Let’s bring millions more of our fellow Americans out of the shadows and on to a path to contribute even more to our country’s success.

Let’s not only honor our asylum laws and never again take another child from another parent at their most desperate and vulnerable moment, but guarantee that all separated families are reunited. Let’s acknowledge that every man, every woman, every child in detention — including those behind fences and barbed wire under our international bridges connecting us with Mexico — are our fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like human beings. On National Security

Let’s ensure our security not through walls and militarization, but by investing in our ports of entry where the vast majority of everything and everyone that ever comes into this country first enters, supporting the women and men of the CBP and treating one another — regardless of our status or how many generations, or days, we’ve been in this country — with dignity and respect.

And if we’re serious about security, let this country of immigrants – Republicans, Independents and Democrats – rewrite our immigration laws in our own image, from our own experiences, and in the best traditions of this great country.

On Veterans

If we are truly grateful to the veterans who have fought this country’s wars – who came back from Vietnam to a country that did not understand or thank them for their service, who are coming back from wars that are 27 years long in Iraq, 17 in Afghanistan — then let us not only ensure that we meet every single part of our obligation to them — their PTSD treated, a roof over the head of every homeless vet, an investment in the treatments and conditions unique to combat and service — let us also make sure that before we enter yet another war that we have exhausted every single peaceful alternative and that we end the wars that have no definition of victory or strategy to win them and bring these service members back home to their families and their communities.

On Climate Change

If we understand that climate change is real and is caused by our own excess and inaction, that the floods, fires and droughts that we are currently experiencing are only going to get much worse if this planet warms another 1-degree Celsius, then let us organize this country around an historic effort to free this economy from a dependence on greenhouse gas emissions, invest in the technologies and jobs in renewable energy that will speed this transition, and reassert our international leadership before it is too late.

Much as we met the existential threat to the western democracies of Nazi Germany nearly 80 years ago and at the same time helped to lift millions of Americans into the middle class, we have an opportunity now to meet an existential threat to this planet by ensuring that public health policy, economic policy, and the engine of a far more conscientious capitalism is put to work in service of our ability to meet this challenge.

It is important that this work ensures that every American benefits, including those poor and minority communities that have so often borne the brunt of climate change.

On Foreign Policy

And when it comes to international leadership — this current administration, responsible for spurning our true friends and alliances forged in sacrifice from the generations before ours, squandering a standing this country has enjoyed for nearly 80 years, must be replaced by an administration that strengthens our historic friendships, earns the respect of the world not just in how we treat people in other countries but how we treat people in our own country and brings the world together around otherwise intractable problems – from building on the Paris agreement to achieve even bolder action on climate, to pursuing nuclear disarmament, to ending our wars and finding peaceful, diplomatic paths forward.

We must focus on this hemisphere and once again make it a foreign policy priority of this country — we can either address the problems in Central America at our border or help the people of Central America address them at home. This country can once again take its place as the indispensable nation, doing what no other country can, for ourselves and for the world. On Democracy

But if we want to do any of this — let us agree that our success as a country is based on the success of this democracy, the greatest mechanism devised to bring forth the power of people.

So every citizen must be able to cast their vote, have their voice heard. We must sign into law a new voting rights act, we must forever banish big money from our politics, end gerrymandering, and enact same-day voter registration in every part of the country.

On Economic Security

Let us also acknowledge that any hope of full political democracy must be premised on an unwavering pursuit of economic democracy.

Every child must see a future for themselves in this country, or we will have no future as a democracy.

The unprecedented concentration of wealth, power and privilege in the United States must be broken apart. Opportunity must be fully shared with all.

Si queremos enfrentar los retos de cuidado de salud por todos; de la reforma migratoria; del cambio climático —- necesitamos una democracia en que cada persona puede votar y ofrecer su voz. Pero también necesitamos una economía donde todos pueden participar, y tener un prospecto de éxito independiente de su genero, de su raza, de los cuantas generaciones su familia tiene a dentro o aparte de los estados unidos. El exito de este pais depende en el exito de cada persona en este pais.

We will not be defined by our fears or the smallness of our differences; we will instead be known by our ambitions, our aspirations and the resolve, the creativity, the service and sacrifice by which we will have achieved them.

Our ability to campaign this way — a campaign run for and by people – no PACs, no corporations – people from every state and territory — can bring us together not just towards a victory in the nominating process, not just in defeating president Trump, but in ensuring that we have the full power of people, of a movement, to accomplish this country’s priorities.

I am honored to run to serve you as President of the United States; and I am grateful to each one of you who will join this campaign and commit yourself in service to this great country of ours.

Together we can fulfill the promise of America, to ourselves, to each other, and to every generation that succeeds us.

Thank you and God bless America. [1]

”
—Beto O'Rourke[10]

O'Rourke participated in an interview series with The New York Times that asked 21 Democratic candidates the same series of 18 questions. To view O'Rourke's responses, click here.

Archive of Political Emails

The Archive of Political Emails was founded in July 2019 to compile political fundraising and advocacy emails sent by candidates, elected officials, PACs, nonprofits, NGOs, and other political actors.[11] The archive includes screenshots and searchable text from emails sent by 2020 presidential candidates. To review the O'Rourke campaign's emails, click here.

Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

The following section provides a timeline of O'Rourke's campaign activity beginning in March 2019. The entries, which come from Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing, are sorted by month in reverse chronological order.


2019

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 YouTube, "Beto O'Rourke Announces 2020 Presidential Bid," March 14, 2019
  3. ↑ NBC News, "10 things about Beto O'Rourke," March 14, 2019
  4. ↑ Money.com, "Beto O’Rourke Has Raised More Money Than Any Senate Candidate in U.S. History. This Map Shows Where the Donations Are Coming From," November 2, 2018
  5. ↑ Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
  6. ↑ FEC, "U.S. President," accessed July 16, 2019
  7. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
  8. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
  9. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Beto O'Rourke, "A Vision for America," accessed July 17, 2019
  11. ↑ Archive of Political Emails, "About," accessed September 16, 2019
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