Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke formally announced Thursday that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, ending months of intense speculation over whether he'd try to translate his newfound political celebrity into a White House bid.
Until he challenged Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year, O'Rourke was little known outside his hometown of El Paso. But the Spanish-speaking 46-year-old former punk rocker became a sensation during a campaign that used grassroots organizing and social media savvy to mobilize young voters and minorities.
The sports and entertainment world already had its eye on O'Rourke during the Senate campaign: NBA star LeBron James wore an O'Rourke hat after video of the Texan defending NFL players' right to protest during the national anthem went viral. Beyonce, a Houston native, endorsed O'Rourke. Democrats have long dreamed that a booming Hispanic population and droves of Americans moving to Texas from elsewhere could turn the nation's largest red state blue and transform the Electoral College by making the Republican path to the presidency all but impossible. It remains to be seen, though, whether O'Rourke's home-state appeal could truly make Texas competitive. Another Texan, former Obama administration housing chief Julian Castro, was already running.
O'Rourke is scheduled to visit Iowa later Thursday and has three full days of political events planned there. A onetime guitarist for an El Paso punk band called Foss, O'Rourke boosted his already considerable nonpolitical street cred in the Senate race with a viral video showing him skateboarding across a Whataburger restaurant parking lot. His trademark black-and-white "Beto for Senate" signs became hipster must-haves last year in some parts of Seattle, Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
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