Ex-punk rocker challenges Ted Cruz for Senate
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-politics-idUSKBN1722Q9
A punk rocker-turned-congressman from Texas announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Ted Cruz on Friday, making him the first prominent Democrat to challenge the former presidential candidate.
Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke, a Spanish-speaking, Irish-American representing a predominantly Latino district that includes the border city of El Paso, is considered a long shot in the Republican-dominated state, analysts said.
But O'Rourke's outsider credentials are expected to add flair to the 2018 Senate race in Texas, where a Democrat has not won a state-wide election in more than 20 years. Beto is short for his name in Spanish, Roberto.
"This is Cruz's to win. He has got a national fundraising network so he will have all the money in the world," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.