Beto O'Rourke switches his style and tone as the spotlight dims

As Beto O’Rourke prepared last month to tell the world that he would run for president, Vanity Fair unveiled its April cover featuring the Democrat from El Paso on a dusty road with his pickup truck, his dog and these words: “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”

In the six weeks since O’Rourke got in it, the former congressman has gone from the buzzy celebrity candidate — the one trailed by dozens of journalists, compared to Barack Obama and photographed by Annie Leibovitz — to just another Democrat in a crowded field, struggling to stand out as he adjusts his message of unity to the Democratic electorate’s anger and demands for specifics.

With that magazine still on the racks, O’Rourke is quickly learning that this race is not going to be easy. When he formally kicked off his campaign with a rally in El Paso on March 30, more than 1,000 supporters in all 50 states hosted watch parties. Two Saturdays later, the campaign could get only a third of that number of hosts to organize door-knocking events in their communities.

Over the past weeks, O’Rourke, 46, has subtly adjusted his campaign style and tone in ways that counteract the criticism and mockery he has faced.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/beto-orourke-switches-his-style-and-tone-as-the-spotlight-dims/2019/04/27/5c8ef1e0-65e7-11e9-a1b6-b29b90efa879_story.html