O'Rourke 'not interested' in campaign help from politicians outside Texas

[left-of-center2012]

Source: The Hill

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke said he is not interested in receiving campaign assistance from President Biden or other politicians in Washington.

“I’m not interested in any national politician — anyone outside of Texas — coming into this state to help decide the outcome of this,” O’Rourke said on Friday, according to The Dallas Morning News.

“I think we all want to make sure that we’re working with, listening to and voting with one another here in Texas,” he said.

O’Rourke reportedly made the comments during an Austin news conference in which he said his campaign would connect with 2 million voters in February to teach them about the new voting laws.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/590954-orourke-not-interested-in-campaign-help-from-politicians-outside-texas

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O'Rourke, a former U.S. congressman from Texas who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate and White House, announced his challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in November.

He has touted himself as a unity candidate and railed against “fringe policies and incompetence that we see in Texas today.”

[2naSalit]

1. Probably a wise decision...

I really hope he wins the elections.

[Pisces]

2. Sounds like he knows Texans!

[left-of-center2012]

3. Stacey Abrams had a 'scheduling conflict' ...

Stacey Abrams had a 'scheduling conflict' that prevented her from appearing with President Biden when he went to Georgia to speak on her #1 issue of voters rights.

Now Beto is saying he is not interested in receiving campaign assistance from President Biden.

WTF folks ?

[Willis88]

4. Interesting

Don't know what to make of it.

[Deminpenn]

5. Conventional red state strategy

IMHO

[TexasTowelie]

15. This isn't really news.

Beto indicated that he wasn't interested in doing campaign events with outside politicians for several weeks going back to when he announced that he was going to run.

I believe that Beto is making the correct decision not associating himself with Biden. There are enough independents that are willing to give a Democratic candidate a chance if they campaign on statewide issue. However, candidates that are viewed as Beltway Democrats don't have a chance.

[left-of-center2012]

16. Well, okie dokie smokie

Thanks for the additional input.

[apnu]

17. What about Beltway Republicans?

Wondering if this rule is universal or hypocritical.

[Lonestarblue]

6. I'm reserving my opinion on this.

I think Beto made a huge mistake with his stance on guns. At this point, we have more guns than people in this country, and we have no chance in the immediate future of reining in gun worship. So we should focus on what we can do.

One of the things that I think could have a huge impact is for VP Harris and Alejandro Mayorkas to visit border communities and talk to the people who have lived there for decades about the effect of the migrant situation on their lives. When national officials travel to the border, all they do is view the migrants—they never spend time with the residents whose lives are disrupted by the migrants—and I believe that is why in 2020 Hildalgo Country, a traditionally Democratic county, voted for Trump.

The border is a big issue for many voters in this state, but the border is in federal control and I think Beto could leverage some national figures in talking about the border. For example, Will Hurd, Republican and former Congressman, proposed an electronic monitoring solution for the border—much less destructive and more effective than the border wall. I don’t know what he’s doing these days, but Beto would be smart ton propose a less expensive solution to illegal border crossings than the stupid wall that Trump, and now Abbott, supports.

[Mz Pip]

7. He's interested in outside money, though

I get solicitations from him regularly.

I wish him luck. He couldn’t beat the most odious Senator so we’ll see how he does against an odious Governor.

[Moebym]

10. He's going to need a huge war chest to defeat Abbott.

[JCMach1]

21. It's a long time until Fall, but yes there would need to be major shift to get that additional 5+%

or so he would need to pull it off.

He will be close though. Abbott is a joke ... even among Republicans here (doesn't mean they won't vote for him though).

[Faux pas]

8. ...

Isn't "keeping it local" a good thing?

[Moebym]

9. I understand where he's coming from

Some races in the past were probably lost when some voters decided that they resented what they viewed as incursions by people from out-of-state who didn't understand their culture and customs or know local politicians, activists and cultural icons.

I doubt Mainers or South Carolinians appreciated the insane amount of attention and money that came from outside their states in 2020. No one was going to tell them which Senate candidates they ought to vote for.

(Beto didn't tell the rest of us our donations wouldn't be welcome, at least. He's going to need a huge war chest to counteract the dark money his opponent will no doubt be spending.)

Who knows - this approach may just work and set an example for how to win more elections in the future.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

11. I trust Beto on this

Right now both Greg Abbott and Eva Guzman (the sane GOP AG candidate) are up on TV with ads attacking Joe Biden

[madville]

12. Smart move at this point

Biden will be a liability more than an asset in many races, TX Governor especially. All I could find from a quick search was a TX poll showing Biden at 35% approval in November. I would wager it’s still in that neighborhood at best given that he has settled in the low 40’s nationally.

At this point I would say Beto’s ceiling is 45% and Abbott would get 52%, similar to the 2020 presidential numbers.

[cadoman]

22. out-of-staters are of little help at this stage of the game

Beto can fundraise just fine. He has an excellent brand and is still young and handsome enough to work a room.

The out-of-staters only matter for candidates who can't fund-raise or who need a turnout boost later in the game. Big city politicians just won't help him in Texas.

Thinking outside the box: maybe it'd be possible to pull in a Bush or Cheney to campaign with him, or some other somewhat rational conservative? He apparently had some business conservatives that were on his side back in El Paso (https://www.wsj.com/articles/beto-orourkes-past-gop-ties-could-complicate-primary-run-11552621743), maybe call them up? If the Democratic nomination is his for the taking, he may as well begin courting independents and conservatives. The ideal campaign may be one that is a little repulsive to a straight-ballot Democrat.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. It may not be quite the apt comparison but I seem to recall that this strategy has worked

for Republicans in certain electorates.

That is to say they often claim to be the voice of their people who understands local issues as only a local can, and who resists definition by Washington, D.C. elites.

It is a strategy which usually seems to work best in local and regional press coverage.

[NurseJackie]

14. Good for him! He's seen the mistakes that others have made...

... and wants to avoid those types of unnecessary distractions.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

18. Like the old salsa commercial goes...

"New York City?!!!

"...git a rope"

[dalton99a]

19. +1. But NYC gave America the best politician ever

[left-of-center2012]

20. I think the salsa that said that ...

was from New Jersey.