Texas senator calls on GOP supporters to ‘Stop Beto’
Democrat Beto O’Rourke hasn’t announced if he’s running for office next year.
And if the former U.S. Representative from El Paso plans on being on the ballot, he hasn’t announced for which post.
But Republicans already are preparing for him.
Count U.S. Sen John Cornyn — who is up for re-election in 2020 — among them.
On Wednesday, the senior Republican senator from Texas sent out a letter to supporters saying that “all signs point to another well-funded, high stakes challenge from Beto in 2020. We need to be ready for anything.”
“That’s why we’ve started a STOP BETO FUND... and that’s why I need you to chip in as soon as possible.”
While in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Cornyn said O’Rourke’s Senate bid against fellow Texan U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last year was “closer than many people would have thought.”
Cruz won re-election by a much smaller margin than many expected, with just over 200,000 more votes than O’Rourke.
“He captured people’s imaginations and came very close to winning,” Cornyn said. “It only makes sense ... that candidates running in 2020 learn from that.”
And in Texas, a traditionally red state but one that is growing and becoming more diverse, Republicans “can no longer be complacent, as in only worrying about primary elections,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn has served in the U.S. Senate since 2002.
O’Rourke has indicated he will announce by the end of this month whether he will jump into the 2020 race for president.
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 4:03 PM.
