'Betting on Beto': O'Rourke campaign events draw hundreds in Senate bid to unseat Ted Cruz

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Rain pounded down on the silver Toyota Sienna as U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke guided it through the streets of this town, almost missing a left turn that would bring him to his last speaking engagement of the night.

He had given up his search for one last cup of coffee after stops at three gas stations and a Subway proved futile.

With a sigh, he pointed the rental car toward Texas A&M University, the fifth stop on a two-day road trip from Houston to Dallas that included a guest appearance from Massachusetts Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, the great-nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

O'Rourke and his team were doubtful that many people would show up for the town hall event. It was 9 p.m. on a Wednesday night and the rain showed no signs of stopping.

But inside, he was greeted by more than 400 supporters who swiftly rose from their seats and erupted in applause as he walked down the rows of chairs, waving and flashing a wide, toothy grin.

"That was exceptional," O'Rourke said, after climbing into the car at the end of the town hall.

The scene was a stark contrast from the few dozen people who attended his town halls when he began his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican.

A year ago, O'Rourke was not well-known outside of El Paso, his hometown so far west that it’s a full time zone away from most Texans. Many people doubted that his campaign — which was fueled mostly by social media and a promise that he would visit Texas' 254 counties — would be able to raise enough money to be competitive in the reliably Republican state.

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The 45-year-old has since become the rock star of Texas' Democratic Party, which is hoping that his long-shot candidacy will benefit from Cruz's struggles to get along with some members of his own party, dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump and the El Paso politician's ability to draw contributions and crowds not typical for candidates challenging statewide Republican incumbents.

O'Rourke has proven just as comfortable sitting down for an interview with Bill Maher on HBO as he is chatting with a conservative radio talk show host in North Texas. He draws hundreds to his town hall meetings, filling local restaurants, college auditoriums and outdoor venues with supporters. And he's raising money at a record breaking level while pledging not to accept contributions from political action committees.

During the first three months of the year, he collected $6.7 million in contributions — more than any candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas history.

On this Wednesday night in March in College Station, perhaps because of the college campus setting, it was difficult to tell that this was a county in which Trump won with 58.5 percent of the vote in 2016.

Two college-aged women huddled together on the edge of the large crowd, exchanging whispers and giggling as they pointed at O’Rourke just a few feet away. A young boy stood clutching a brown lunch bag filled with fresh pan dulce, anxious to give the Mexican pastries to O’Rourke. Several students stood with their arms crossed, waiting for a lull in conversation so they could shake O’Rourke’s hand and tell him that they voted for him during the primary.

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They also wanted photos.

In the group was Sarah Escudero, a sophomore chemistry student who used to babysit O’Rourke’s children in El Paso. She was waiting to take a photo to send to her mom.

“I’ve just seen the dad side of him, more than the political side,” Escudero said of O’Rourke. “I can’t see the difference. The way he shows you that he cares about you when he’s campaigning is the way he truly cares about people. He is so loving and he is so kind to everyone.”

O’Rourke knows the power of social media and a selfie.

At each town hall and rally, he instructs attendees to take out their camera phones, snap a photo (“It doesn’t have to be of me”) and share it on social media to get his name and message out.

When he isn’t speaking at an event or taking photos with supporters, he’s answering questions from people on Facebook, using the platform’s live video feature, or he’s working the phones, calling people he’s met on the road, or planning future events.

When he has a free moment, he calls his wife, Amy, back home in El Paso.

"Hey, Mama," he said often during the March road trip, before launching into a description of the day's events and a series of questions about their children: Ulysses, 11, Henry, 9, and Molly, 7.

Through it all, O'Rourke has a smile plastered across his face. Between phone calls and preparations for upcoming events in the car, O'Rourke plays DJ, cracks jokes or swears at traffic.

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Such quirky methods are a staple of O'Rourke's candidacy, which has resisted the trappings of more traditional campaigns. He has declined to hire a consultant, pollster or speechwriter.

"What I'm asking for is: How do I have the opportunity to listen to as many stories as possible about the experiences of the people that I want to serve and represent as closely as I can in the different communities in Texas?” he said in an interview. "I'm learning a ton and I have so much left to learn. But I think that's the right way to do it."

On his recent road trip through Houston, O'Rourke picked up Kennedy, who delayed his family vacation to participate in a campaign tradition — a conversation with supporters on Facebook’s live video feature.

The pair joked as they drove. Kennedy, who has curly, red hair, said when people see him and O’Rourke together, they often assume that O’Rourke is the Kennedy.

“Beto gets introduced all the time as the best-looking Kennedy in Washington, which wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t standing right next to him when it happens,” he said.

Kennedy joined O’Rourke at meetings with local labor organizations, which had gathered at the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in Houston.

O’Rourke has been working to improve his relationship with the Texas arm of the labor group after it declined to endorse him ahead of the primary election because he didn’t attend the organization's convention in January.

The group ultimately endorsed O’Rourke, but that hasn't stopped him from meeting with members.

“We had a little rocky start when he started, with him and labor, so I'm glad he's coming so these people can talk to him and get to know him,” said Kenneth Sumberlin, the assistant business manager at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Houston. “I've talked to him a couple of times. I'm impressed with him and I support him wholeheartedly.”

The trip came on the heels of Trump signing one of O'Rourke's bills into law, giving him a chance to celebrate his success with supporters. At each campaign stop, he discussed the bill he wrote with Republican Mike Bost of Illinois that would expand mental health care options for veterans with “other-than-honorable discharges,” who were barred from accessing benefits.

“Imagine this: You come back from Vietnam, or Korea before that or Afghanistan today, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injury or traumatic brain injury incurred in service to your country,” O’Rourke told the crowd at a town hall meeting in Marlin, Texas. “Part of the consequence of your discharge is that you will not be able to receive the treatment or care that will put you back together.”

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Veterans issues are a priority for O'Rourke, a small business owner and former City Council representative, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

During the road trip, he also advocated for universal health care and the adoption of environmental regulations to address climate change. He criticized calls for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and Trump's recent decision to send National Guard troops to the border. And he shared his interest in ending the federal prohibition on marijuana, which he said will reduce the population in American prisons.

Cruz has attacked O'Rourke as being too liberal for Texas, arguing that the Democrat wants to take people's guns, raise taxes and open the country's borders.

In response, O'Rourke said he does not want to take people's guns but supports banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. He said he supports raising taxes on the wealthiest in the country.

This trip came weeks after O'Rourke's victory in the primary election, a win that also revealed the Democrat's obstacles moving forward. His party has not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.

O'Rourke won with 62 percent of the vote in the March primary, but his failure to get a majority of the vote in half of Texas' 32 counties along the border shows that work still is needed to galvanize voters in minority communities.

At a town hall in DeSoto, a suburb of Dallas with a predominately black population, an audience member told O’Rourke he needed make sure the issues he’s fighting for are of concern to all Texans — not just white Texans.

O’Rourke stood quietly, nodding along as she accused him of whitewashing his campaign and pointed out that most of the attendees at the town hall were white and didn't reflect the demographics of the area.

“Thank you,” O’Rourke said when she had finished. “I needed to hear everything that you just had to say.”

He said his campaign could do a better job of making sure that people from all backgrounds feel represented.

MORE: Texas primary results show challenges Beto O'Rourke must overcome in race against Ted Cruz

“I’m here and I’m willing to follow your lead if you’re willing to guide me,” O’Rourke said. “When I introduce myself to everyone, I don’t ask if you’re a Republican or a Democrat or even if you’re a voter. I just want to know that you’re here and that I have a chance to learn from you.”

The woman thanked O'Rourke for his response and returned to her seat, where she nodded and clapped through the rest of his remarks.

In Houston, Claude Cummings Jr., vice president of the local Communications Workers of America chapter, said he organized meetings with African-American community leaders and journalists at O’Rourke’s request.

“I did not call him to tell him that we needed this meeting," Cummings said, explaining that O'Rourke realized the audiences at his campaign events featured very few African-Americans. "Very few candidates come down here and say they want to support the African American community.”

O'Rourke said he wants to learn from the communities he visits and demonstrate how he will represent the state in the Senate. He said he isn't interested in asking people to campaign in their community on his behalf.

“Frankly, that's what politicians always do, especially in communities of color,” O’Rourke said in an interview. “They say, 'Hey, help me turn out the vote, get your people out.' That's not me. I'm not going to ask you to get your people out. I'm going to ask what's on your mind and I'm going to listen to everyone and do my best to find everyone wherever they are in their state and in their communities.”

O'Rourke acknowledges that many voters outside of El Paso had never heard his name before he began his roving town halls.

That is still the case in some parts of the state despite visits to 242 counties.

The Rev. Timothy McNeil, of the Holman Street Baptist Church, said he attended a roundtable event for African American media leaders but walked away disappointed.

He said he wanted to learn more about O'Rourke as a person, but felt he hadn't strayed from his talking points.

"To come in and recite the issues, everybody does that," he said. "Before you come back here, pause for a moment and recognize that we have no clue who you are."



"I'm not really sure what I took away from this, other than it's not Bee-toe, it's Beh-toe," McNeil said.

When O'Rourke concluded his remarks in College Station, the students in the audience clamored to form a line to take a photo with the Democrat. Some were content to smile for the picture and walk away with a wave, while others tried to engage O'Rourke in conversation.

It takes more than 30 minutes for the room to empty.

But before O'Rourke can leave, he is intercepted by a lingering supporter — this one sporting a guitar and a pitch for a new campaign song.

As Hank Woji starts to sing, a smile creeps over O'Rourke's face.

“We’re betting on Beto,

He’s leading the way.

We’re voting for Beto,

It’s Beto for Texas today.”

O’Rourke and his team thank Woji. They and end the two-day road trip with a final Facebook live video while driving to Whataburger before heading to the hotel for sleep.

This is the first story in a two-part series featuring the candidates in the race for U.S. Senate in Texas. A story profiling U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign will be published next week.

Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.