Beto O’Rourke’s campaign so far has been the opposite of rocky, he has dedicated himself 100% to rural roundtables and raucous rallies, generating a vast amount of followers with his charisma and charm.
Yet O’Rourke knows he has a long way to go if he wants to win in the next election.
The votes he needs in order to run up his numbers are among Latino voters. Bad timing for O’Rourke and Democrats, now that the electorate appears to be heading in favor of Republicans.
Texas State Senator Cesar Blanco, is advising O’Rourkes campaign and is advising the campaign as a senator and as a friend. He told Newsweek that where Beto kicked off his campaign was very important, “The first places he went were to the border. I think he understands the path to election is really through the Democratic base and independents, and the growth in the electorate is minorities, particularly Latinos.”
O’Rourke’s campaign is saying they now have data from 2018 that tells them which counties he did well in and where he needs to improve. Learning from past mistakes, his campaign and supporters have said they will prioritize Latinos.
He has held events in Hidalgo county, McAllen and Brownsville, all areas with more than 92% Hispanic residents. Where he is telling Latinos “you matter,” – in fluent Spanish – while courting their vote, and spending in their communities.
Meanwhile, Abbott is also fighting for the Latino vote. Hosting a meet-and-greet in Edinburg, delivering tamales to law enforcement and military members in Rio Grande Valley, and meeting with Nueces County Republicans in Corpus Christi to rally Hispanics, as reported by Newsweek.
“Every year that I have run for governor, I have gotten about 45% of the Hispanic vote,” he said in Edinburg, “This election year I will get more than 50% of the Hispanic vote in the state of Texas.”
He also stated the fact that the Latino community wants “tougher border security and conservative family values,” which doesn’t go along with “Beto’s message of defunding police, not enforcing laws along border and taking people’s guns”
Another of O’Rourke’s efforts to take over the race, include his organization Powered By People, helping register 260,000 Texans voters in a year and a half.
