Beto O'Rourke
Born 1972 · Age 53
American politician from El Paso, Texas; U.S. Representative (2013–2019), 2018 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, 2020 presidential candidate, and 2022 Democratic nominee for Texas governor. Former small-business founder and college musician.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in El Paso, Texas
Robert Francis O'Rourke (nicknamed 'Beto') born at Hotel Dieu Hospital in El Paso to Pat and Melissa O'Rourke.
Early schooling in El Paso
Attended Escuela Montessori Del Valle preschool, Rivera and Mesita Elementary Schools and two years at El Paso High School.
Introduced to punk music and local punk scene
As a young teen discovered punk (Clash's London Calling), began attending shows and reading punk zines; punk culture influenced later political outlook.
Joined Cult of the Dead Cow (hacker collective) as teenager
Participated under the pseudonym 'Psychedelic Warlord' and wrote pieces for the group's private forum; encouraged inclusion of female members.
Enrolled at Woodberry Forest School
Transferred after two years at El Paso High School to Woodberry Forest School, an all-male boarding school in Virginia.
Formed band Foss while at Columbia
Co-founded post-hardcore band Foss with friends from El Paso (recruited Cedric Bixler-Zavala on drums); started summer tours across U.S. and Canada.
Foss released demo and 7-inch record
Foss released a self-titled demo and a 7-inch single 'The El Paso Pussycats' on Western Breed Records.
Co-captain of Columbia heavyweight rowing crew (junior year)
Active in Columbia athletics while studying English literature.
Played in band Swedes (album 'Summer')
Played drums for the band Swedes, which released an album called Summer in 1995.
Graduated from Columbia University (B.A., English literature)
Completed BA in English literature in 1995.
Misdemeanor burglary charge (later dismissed)
Charged in connection with a 1990s incident (reported as jumping a fence at UTEP); charge later dropped.
Returned to El Paso
After several jobs in New York (art mover, nanny, proofreader) and working for an ISP run by his uncle, returned to El Paso.
Arrested for DWI (charges dismissed after diversion)
Arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated in September 1998; completed diversion program and charges dismissed.
Co-founded Stanton Street Technology Group (web/IT company)
Started an Internet services and software company (Stanton Street); father reportedly took out a $20,000 loan on his behalf when he couldn't get one.
Launched Stanton Street online magazine/newspaper
Stanton Street also published an online alt-periodical covering arts, restaurants and opinion, briefly in print.
Stanton Street co-marketing partnership with KTSM-TV
StantonStreet.com made a content and ad-sharing co-marketing agreement with El Paso TV station KTSM; KTSM news director Eric Pearson was his brother-in-law.
Father Pat O'Rourke died in cycling accident
Pat O'Rourke, a local politician and businessman, died when struck by a car while cycling outside El Paso.
Involvement with local civic and nonprofit boards
Served with Rotary Club, United Way, Center Against Sexual and Family Violence and on boards of El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and UTEP Institute for Policy & Economic Development (dates approximate; civic involvement pre-politics).
Elected to El Paso City Council (8th district)
Defeated incumbent Anthony Cobos (57–43%) and took office June 1, 2005; campaigned on downtown development and border reform.
Selected Mayor Pro Tempore of El Paso
Named mayor pro tem by unanimous City Council vote on June 14, 2005; relinquished the role on June 20, 2006.
Married Amy Sanders
Married Amy Hoover Sanders, who later ran Stanton Street and whose family provided financial support during later campaigns.
Re-elected to El Paso City Council
Won a second term, defeating Trini Acevedo with roughly 70% of the vote.
Sponsored War on Drugs/marijuana resolution
Sponsored a City Council resolution calling for comprehensive examination of the War on Drugs and repeal of ineffective marijuana laws; unanimously passed by Council but vetoed by the mayor.
Co-authored book 'Dealing Death and Drugs'
Co-wrote (with Susie Byrd) a 2011 book criticizing the War on Drugs and arguing to decriminalize marijuana and examine drug policy.
Published 'Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico'
Co-authored a book analyzing the drug trade, border violence and proposing reforms including marijuana decriminalization.
Left El Paso City Council
Concluded service on City Council (in office June 1, 2005 – June 27, 2011) to pursue other endeavors including Congress run.
Defeated Silvestre Reyes in Democratic primary for U.S. House
Won the Democratic primary in Texas's 16th district with 50.5% of the vote, avoiding a runoff, after a grass-roots campaign (knocked on ~16,000 doors).
Elected to U.S. House (TX-16)
Won general election with ~65% of the vote; first-term to represent largely Hispanic El Paso-based congressional district.
Caucus memberships (New Democrat Coalition, Congressional Arts Caucus)
Member of New Democrat Coalition and Congressional Arts Caucus during his tenure in the House.
Committee assignments in Congress (Armed Services & Veterans' Affairs)
Served on the House Armed Services Committee (subcommittees on Emerging Threats & Strategic Forces) and House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Sworn in as U.S. Representative
Took office January 3, 2013 as the Representative for Texas's 16th district.
Introduced Border Enforcement Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act
Co-introduced bipartisan bill to create DHS ombudsman for CBP abuses, oversight commission, and protocols for reporting deaths and use of force at the border.
Co-sponsored Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act (Section 506)
Supported an appropriations bill enacted in 2014 that allowed CBP to enter public-private partnerships to fund customs officers overtime; El Paso selected as one of five pilot cities.
Re-elected to U.S. House (2014)
Won re-election with ~67% of vote; during 2014 donated at least $28,000 of his campaign funds to other House Democrats.
Announced bid for third House term (ran in 2016)
Announced in Oct 2015 he would seek a third term in the U.S. House.
Won Democratic primary (2016) for House
Defeated Ben Mendoza in the Democratic primary for re-election.
Re-elected to U.S. House (2016)
Won a third term in the House (TX-16) with a commanding margin; was a superdelegate and endorsed Hillary Clinton in June 2016.
Sponsored American Families United Act
Co-sponsored legislation in 2017 promoting rights of citizens to sponsor spouses for legal immigration.
Pledged not to accept PAC money for Senate run
Publicly pledged not to accept political action committee contributions during the 2018 Senate campaign; PolitiFact rated this claim true.
Raised $2 million during first three months of Senate campaign
Campaign raised approximately $2 million in early months, largely from small-dollar donors.
Announced U.S. Senate campaign vs. Ted Cruz
Formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz on March 31, 2017.
End Citizens United endorsement
Received organizational endorsement from End Citizens United in June 2017, recognizing campaign fundraising without corporate special-interest money.
Wife Amy began operating Stanton Street (until 2017)
Amy O'Rourke operated the Stanton Street business; later sold her stake (reported timeline shows operation until June 2017).
Total campaign fundraising reached ~$80M (2018 Senate)
By end of the campaign, O'Rourke's campaign reported raising about $80 million — the largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate.
Campaign fundraising claimed from 802,836 individual contributions
Campaign reported donations from 802,836 individuals, majority from Texas, during the 2018 run.
Notable campaign style: refused traditional consultants, used volunteers
Ran 2018 Senate campaign without professional pollsters/consultants, relied on volunteers and small-dollar donors; first ad filmed on iPhone.
Set record for most votes for a Texas Democrat
Although he lost, O'Rourke's 4,045,632 votes were the most ever cast for a Democrat in Texas to date.
Ran statewide retail campaign in all 254 Texas counties
Notable 2018 campaign strategy: visited every county in Texas during the Senate race, emphasized retail campaigning and social media.
Raised $10.4M in Q2 2018 (vs Cruz's $4.6M)
Significant fundraising advantage reported in Q2 2018: O'Rourke raised $10.4M during the quarter.
Raised more than $38M in Q3 2018 (record for a U.S. Senate race quarter)
Third-quarter fundraising reported at over $38 million, three times Cruz's totals for the period.
Won Democratic primary for U.S. Senate
Became the Democratic nominee on March 6, 2018 with 61.8% of the primary vote.
Spent $7.3M on digital advertising in Q3 2018
Third-quarter FEC filing showed $7.3M spent on digital ads, contrasted with Cruz's $251k in same category.
First debate vs. Ted Cruz (Dallas)
Debated Cruz in the first of three scheduled debates; engaged on guns, immigration, marijuana and other topics; widely seen as having strong crowd reception.
Attended CNN town-hall (McAllen) without Cruz
Cruz declined to attend; O'Rourke answered town-hall questions alone, discussed impeachment of Trump and other issues.
Lost U.S. Senate race to Ted Cruz
Narrow defeat to Cruz in general election (Cruz 50.9% to O'Rourke 48.3%); O'Rourke received 4,045,632 votes — the most votes ever cast for a Democrat in Texas history.
Published extensive social-media-driven travel diaries and town halls
During and after congressional service and into presidential run, O'Rourke livestreamed travel, held frequent town halls and used social media heavily.
Left Congress
Term in the U.S. House concluded January 3, 2019 after serving from 2013–2019.
Campaign kickoff event in El Paso (~two weeks after announcement)
Held a kickoff event in El Paso with approximately 6,000 attendees, highlighting his border-city message (date ~late March 2019).
Announced 2020 presidential campaign
Announced candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination via social media video on March 14, 2019.
Raised ~$6.1M in first 24 hours of presidential campaign
Campaign reported one of the largest first-day fundraising hauls among 2020 Democratic contenders — about $6.1M.
El Paso mass shooting response
A white supremacist killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso; O'Rourke, from El Paso, was a vocal commentator and returned to the city.
2020 Democratic debate: proposed mandatory assault-rifle buyback
During the third Democratic debate he said 'Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47' advocating mandatory buyback of assault-style weapons.
Suspended 2020 presidential campaign
Announced suspension of presidential campaign citing lack of traction and fundraising challenges.
Endorsed Joe Biden for President
Publicly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination (endorsement date March 2, 2020).
Announced run for Texas governor
Posted a video announcing his candidacy for the 2022 Texas gubernatorial race on November 15, 2021.
Won Democratic nomination for Governor of Texas
Won the Democratic primary on March 1, 2022 with 91.4% of the vote and 983,182 primary votes.
Confronted Governor Abbott after Uvalde shooting
At a May 25, 2022 press conference about the Uvalde elementary school shooting, publicly admonished GOP officials for inaction on gun safety.
Lost Texas gubernatorial election to Greg Abbott
Defeated by incumbent Governor Greg Abbott in the general election; Abbott 4,437,099 votes (54.8%), O'Rourke 3,553,656 votes (43.9%).
Key Achievement Ages
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