page_title: Beto O'Rourke
section_title: Endorsements
hierarchical_section_title: Beto O'Rourke / Political career / 2018 U.S. Senate campaign / Endorsements
caption_attribution_description: English: Beto O'Rourke
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: O'Rourke's Senate bid was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Singer and activist Willie Nelson endorsed O'Rourke and held a rally for him on September 29 in Austin, Texas; Nelson said, "Beto embodies what is special about Texas, an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine". At the end of the rally, Nelson debuted his new election-inspired song "Vote 'Em Out". Other celebrity endorsements included Beyoncé, Khalid, Aaron Jones, Eva Longoria, LeBron James, Jim Carrey, Travis Scott, Ellen DeGeneres, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Kelly Rowland.
caption: O'Rourke senatorial campaign logo
exif: {}