Considering the significant difference in voter turnout in TX between the right and the left, that's a pretty significant accomplishment. If TX had national-average turnout, Beto would probably have won, but D turnout is an ongoing problem here.

I find it curious that people seem to want to discount Beto solely because he lost a close race to a Republican in a red-turning-purple state, but don't seem to think that Democrats who've lost previous primaries by much larger margins against other Democrats should be viewed similarly. By similar logic, Sanders and Biden should just pack it in, Joe before even he announces.

Especially when it's only selectively applied.

only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. So I've been told.

smear campaign on Facebook. I saw it everywhere. And after a week of it, Beto, who had been rising plateaued just in time. Bet there were intense debates on Cruz campaign about when to unleash the trash.

in red Texas.

His campaigning was Brilliant.

on his Senate campaign. Considering that nearly all of the Democrats that ran for state office in 2014 lost by about 20 percent, cutting the margin to less than 3% was a significant accomplishment.

I think it's a silly talking point to say Beto couldn't beat ted cruz in Texas. When he was soooo Close.

At lunch yesterday, two of my law partners, three associates and two paralegals were all contributing to Beto and buying bumper stickers.

Here is a good explanation

Link to tweet

...without singing Koom by yah...then i get the giggles. Yep he could win!

All Democrats are hitting the same policy themes, some a bit more to the left than others, but all in the same ballpark. Personality not policy is what really distinguishes them, and we need someone who can fire up the troops and steal the spotlight from Trump.

Charisma is like the quarterback and policy is like the defensive line. Yes, both are terrific advantages and there are examples of each one carrying the day without the other, but given a choice of more-often-than-not there really isn't a choice at all.

Give me the quarterback and I'll take my chances.

He'll be able to bat back and mock Trump's silly but effective school yard bully mob guy shtick. He's quick, sharp and fearless. And a fighter. Yay! I'm so thrilled he's running!

He will have to convince voters on his own

He was in a close race with Cruz in a red-leaning state with an ongoing D turnout problem. It wasn't close solely because he's a "rockstar".

Have to do better

And Cruz lasted a lot longer than more established Repubicons. I did have to laugh my ass off when he made that desperation move at the end to have Carly Fiorina as his "running mate". She has run two companies (Lucent and Hewlett Packard) straight into the ground, and Lyin' Ted thought he could pick up California votes with his last-ditch gambit.

Beto vs. Trump and Trump vs. Cruz have nothing in common. Apples and oranges. The latter was a primary and irrelevant to a national contest in 2020. Besides, Cruz thumped Trump in Texas 44/27. Beto lost by 2.6%.

Trump won the primary overall because he tapped into disaffected, racist morons who couldn't see through his crap and other assorted malcontents. He certainly didn't beat Cruz because he was a better candidate. Had the GOP gotten their shit together earlier and rallied behind one anti-Trump candidate, Cruz may have won. He was one of the last ones in the race.

said today. ALL you have to do to win in TX is to just show you are a good guy. No policy. Just that more than half think Trump's an asshole scumbag. Just show you aren't. They didn't like Beto's policy laden display this morning. They think it turns people off. Just be a nice guy

Here is a good explanation

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

the next POTUS or VPOTUS without a doubt.

....Now I see Beto and say "Wow"....I am impressed....

It would be great to see a Harris/Beto or Beto/Harris - if I thought that those two could win the entire Nation....

I love Joe Biden....despite his "baggage" from his past. However - I think Biden on the ticket as President with either Harris or Beto would be a winning ticket for POTUS and beating Trump and helping bring our Nation back and our democracy.

I think we need a woman on the ticket....I really don't feel having two white males is what our Nation needs....yet is that what is needed to beat a racist misogynistic MOFO?

So I don't know what will happen...

would simply confirm the Trumper narrative, that women/PoC/etc are inferior and need white men to do the job.

So even if we "won" with such a ticket, we would lose the larger cultural argument.

One of the spots on the ticket should be a woman; women drove the blue wave and this is the MeToo era, making it good politics as well.

Personally, I favor a Kamala/Beto ticket, a rockstar ticket which can mobilize the Obama coalition.

et al

So, definitely he can win.

That's my take.

I'd like to know more about his actual beliefs and policies at a national level though, as obviously running in Texas he had to tailor things more to the local audience.

I suspect its too early for him, and I'd definitely prefer him to gain a bit more experience first. If he could take a senate seat in 2020 and look to run in 2028 that would be ideal I think. If he can win it now though, good for him!

Sorry, but he couldn't beat Ted Cruz here. And Cruz couldn't beat trump.

What precisely -- if you would, please -- makes you think he can win the Democratic nomination? Charm is certainly a nice quality, but he's weak on the issues that appear to be driving D voters' enthusiasm this cycle (where he even has firm stands on them).

My belief, FWIW, is that Beto will make someone a helpful running mate; probably not Biden or Sanders, perhaps Kamala or Liz Warren, Amy Klobuchar, or Cory Booker should they be nominated.

One other point: Perhaps you are aware that the LBJ law in Texas means he can run for both president and US Senate (against John Cornyn) next year. I fully expect both O'Rourke and Julián Castro to avail themselves of this.

The conversation so far has been presented as an either-or — that if O’Rourke runs for Senate, he’d be out of the presidential race. But both O’Rourke and Castro would be eligible to be on the Texas ticket for Senate and for president or vice president, if they so desired. Texas law prevents candidates from filing for more than one office, except for that LBJ exemption. And the exemption in the Texas Election Code is broader than history might indicate: “This section does not apply to candidacy for the office of president or vice-president of the United States and another office.”

All of those things are irrelevant. Texas isn't indicative of the entire US electorate. And the 2016 Republican primary and 2020 general election have nothing in comparison.

Beto could put Texas into play

Link to tweet

Just odd.

that just make him look out of touch when it comes to women, especially in the current political climate.

Just my opinion, but it appears to me that he takes his wife for granted.

She did look at the camera several times, though

Positive thread. More and more of these are appearing today at DU. Good job guys!