If O’Rourke wants to become Texas’s first Democratic senator in 30 years, he needs to convince Republicans to vote for him
National Democrats have long dreamed of recapturing Texas, and Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s bid to unseat Republican senator Ted Cruz has seemingly given them reason for hope. O’Rourke has raised record-breaking amounts of cash ($38m in his latest haul), drawn large crowds of supporters at rallies across the Lone Star state and been fawningly profiled in nearly every major publication in the country.
But there is a fatal flaw in the 46-year-old El Paso congressman’s strategy. O’Rourke is betting that increased voter turnout among Texas Democrats, rather than the persuasion of Republicans, will propel him to victory. Appealing to disgruntled Republicans and independents by tacking to the center on key issues – gun control, abortion, taxes – isn’t part of O’Rourke’s strategy, even if he pays lip service to the idea in his impassioned rhetoric and populist pose.
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