The first ‘Beto for President’ campaign ad has hit the airwaves, even before the former El Paso Congressman announces his candidacy for President, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The flashy, well produced ad, to the tune of the seventies ‘The Who’ classic ‘Baba O’Reilly’ (generally known as ‘Teenaged Wasteland’) the ad shows the Democrat skateboarding, appearing on Facebook live, and greeting voters in his unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate.
“Its thar quality that highlights Beto,” Mike Soneff, who heads the group ‘Draft Beto,’ which paid for the ad, tells News Radio 1200 WOAI’s Michael Board. “Beto is such a watchable, likeable guy.”
O’Rourke said during last year’s U.S. Senate campaign that he would not seek the 2020 nomination for President, but lately he has been indicating that he might be open to a run, and says he will make his announcement next month of his future plans. O'Rourke consistently polls among the top three Democrats favored in the 2020 race, along with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.
“This caps the excitement of Beto’s 2018 campaign, and I think it shows what a Beto 2020 campaign would feel like,” Soneff said.
O’Rourke has taken hits lately for a lack of substance, and was hurt by a Washington Post interview in which he appeared to have few answers to problems ranging from immigration to the U.S. involvement in Syria, responding with comments like ‘I’ll have to look into that.’
Soneff says the ad is now supposed to detail O’Rourke’s policy positions, but it supposed to keep the excitement alive while supporters await his announcement on his 2020 plans.
“It speaks to Beto’s ability to get people excited and get them involved in the political process, which was critical to why he did so well in Texas,” he said.
In fact, the ‘Beto effect’ is widely credited, or blamed, for major losses by Republicans in local government in San Antonio and Houston. At the Bexar County Courthouse, virtually every Republican who was on the ballot in November was defeated by Democrats buoyed by straight-ticket voting by O’Rourke supporters. In Houston, respected Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who won worldwide praise for leading the Houston area through 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, was defeated by a 27 year old political novice for the same reason.
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