Beto O'Rourke Announces 2020 Run For White House

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke

Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke has announced he's joining the race for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.

The Texan, who became a sensation during the 2018 midterm elections, made his announcement on Twitter:

I am running to serve you as the next president. The challenges we face are the greatest in living memory. No one person can meet them on their own. Only this country can do that, and only if we build a movement that includes all of us. Say you're in: https://t.co/EKLdkVET2u pic.twitter.com/lainXyvG2n

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 14, 2019

From the New York Times:

Mr. O’Rourke made his town hall forums the centerpiece of his Senate candidacy, turning the race into a national cause — the underdog liberal running in a famously red state — trailed by a documentary film crew and endorsed by celebrities from Beyoncé to Willie Nelson. He made a point of visiting each of the 254 counties in Texas, helping him bulldoze fund-raising records and come within about 200,000 votes of Mr. Cruz on Election Day.

[Where Beto O’Rourke stands on the issues]

Mr. O’Rourke also attracted many fans outside the state, drawing them into a perpetual social media live-stream capturing not only his political events but unscripted moments on the road: late-night burger stops, skateboarding in a parking lot, reminiscing with a former bandmate behind the wheel. For many politically obsessed liberals, his inevitably upbeat musings offered a welcome online antidote to Mr. Trump’s Twitter rampaging.

Admirers believe it is this ability to generate his own narrative orbit that could separate him from his peers.

With the tagline, Beto For America, the 46-year-old hopes to upend the standings that currently show former Vice President Joe Biden (who hasn't officially announced he's in the race yet) and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the lead.