page_title: Beto O'Rourke
section_title: 2020 presidential campaign
hierarchical_section_title: Beto O'Rourke / Political career / 2020 presidential campaign
caption_attribution_description: Former U.S. Congressman Beto O'Rourke and Steve Greenhouse speaking with attendees at the 2019 National Forum on Wages and Working People hosted by the Center for the American Progress Action Fund and the SEIU at the Enclave in Las Vegas, Nevada. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.
context_page_description: Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke is an American politician who represented Texas's 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. O'Rourke is most notable for his 2018 campaign for United States Senate, in which he narrowly lost to Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. He sought the 2020 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
  O'Rourke was born into a local political family in El Paso, Texas, and is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and Columbia University. While studying at Columbia, O'Rourke began a brief music career as bass guitarist in the post-hardcore band Foss. After his college graduation, he returned to El Paso and began a business career. In 2005, he was elected to the El Paso City Council, serving until 2011. O'Rourke was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 after defeating eight-term incumbent Democrat Silvestre Reyes in the primary.
  After being re-elected to the House in 2014 and 2016, O'Rourke declined to seek re-election in 2018. Instead, he sought the U.S. Senate seat held by Cruz, running a competitive campaign that drew national attention.
context_section_description: In late 2018, speculation began that O'Rourke might run in the United States presidential election in 2020. Prior to the midterm elections, The New Republic said O'Rourke's Senate campaign was the beginning of a bid for the presidency, despite calling it "journalistic hedging", or a justification for the media extensively covering a candidate who was expected to lose his race.
  Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said he has "name recognition, a widely successful fundraising operation, a young fresh face with a sprinkling of woke, a cool persona, a new perspective, he speaks Spanish and would be an exciting and upbeat candidate." The possibility of an O'Rourke candidacy made some Democratic party donors hesitant to commit to other candidates.
  On March 13, El Paso TV station KTSM-TV reported that O'Rourke had decided to run for President in 2020. O'Rourke confirmed speculation the following day by announcing that he was entering the presidential race. According to Politico, during his presidential race, O'Rourke presented his 2018 loss to Cruz as a prominent selling point.
  O'Rourke announced the end of his campaign for president on November 1, 2019. He endorsed Joe Biden at a rally in Dallas, Texas on March 2, 2020, one day before Super Tuesday.
caption: O'Rourke at a presidential campaign event in April 2019
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