Beto O’Rourke Flew to L.A. (AGAIN) to Fundraise for His Texas Senate Campaign
Nothing says “Texas grassroots campaign” like fundraising in Hollywood
Democrat Senate Candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke might be a hit among the Lone Star State’s recent liberal transplants, but jumping a plane to L.A. for a Hollywood fundraising gig is not a good look. And yet…
Monday, Variety reported that Rep. O’Rourke was in L.A. “at the home of actress Nancy Stephens and director-producer Rick Rosenthal for an evening reception.”
He’ll be at the home of actress Nancy Stephens and director-producer Rick Rosenthal for an evening reception, with ticket prices starting at $250 per person. Those who contribute $2,700 per person or raise at least $5,000 earn a spot on the host committee.
Cook Political Report classifies the Senate race as “likely Republican.” While O’Rourke’s chances are still classified as a bit long by the political punditry, he raised $6.7 million, more than twice that of Cruz, in the first quarter. That includes about $167,000 from entertainment industry sources, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. His donors so far include Tate Donovan, Rian Johnson, Phil Lord, Connie Britton, Aubrey Plaza, Bob Odenkirk, Jim Gianopulos, and Tom Rothman. Chelsea Handler is among those who have been publicly championing O’Rourke in Twitter posts.
Co-hosts for Monday’s event include Tom and Ellen Hoberman, Phil Mercado and Todd Quinn, Cotty Chubb, Pat Klous and Roman Silberfeld, Charles Horak, Thao Nguyen and Andreas Krainer, Alan Rosenberg, Cate Park, Jon Vein and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Marilyn Bitner, Jonathan Berry, Wendy Wanderman and Lynne Wasserman.
Variety reported this is at least the third such fundraiser O’Rourke has held in California for his Senate campaign.
Both Cruz and O’Rourke have received more than $2 million in donations from out of state. A feat not entirely surprising for Sen. Cruz who established a national fundraising base during his failed run for president in 2016.
The Houston Chronicle charted the breakdown:
But much like any Texas Democrat who gains a little steam, liberals (especially political reporters with little to no working knowledge of Texas or Texans) believe an upset is imminent. See also: Wendy Davis.
Just a few days ago, Politico published a cheerleading piece called, “Beto-mania Sweeps Texas.”
I’m not sure if it was intentional, hubris, or a complete lack of self-awareness, but the author describes his first brush with “Beto-mania” at a bar in D.C. Not Texas, D.C.
Then, the author described a campaign event held at a bar in Ft. Worth, Texas thusly:
A half-hour before the event’s 8 p.m. start time, several hundred people already filled the bar and its adjoining yard, driven there by Facebook and word-of-mouth.
Only to say later that the event featured several other Democrat candidates and oh, by the way, the Texas Democrat convention was also in town.
There are few things that make native Texans bristle quicker than outsiders, especially liberal coastal elites, telling Texans what’s best for Texas, but that never stops them from trying.
Hey, Texas! I suppose you're going to re-elect Ted Cruz, but I hope you don't. Beto O'Rourke is mega-cool. Smart, too. Also, jeez, do we have to look at Ted for another six years? The mind reels.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 10, 2018
Despite one outlier, polling is not in O’Rourke’s favor. Just take a look at the last few polls (as compiled by Real Clear Politics):
Texas has taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees from states in economic decline. Some bring their liberal politics with them, many don’t. The state’s changing demographics make it susceptible to purple status at some point down the road, but not in 2018.
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Comments
Steven King is such a blow-hard twat. As if being “mega cool” is a reason to vote for a senate candidate. It’s that vacuous mind-set that gets us disasters like Obama (oh wow… look at the crease up his leg) and Bill Clinton (oooooh, he plays the sax!). What a lib moron.
Go ahead progs, pour your money into Beta O’Toole’s campaign. Then watch him get crushed like a June-bug under a boot-heel and cry yourselves to sleep (again).
Who cares what a child pornographer thinks?
( Read It as far as you can. But get it from the library don’t give King the money. )
Beto will lose, because Trump will be in Russia soon to “collude” with Putin to arrange his loss. (Sadly, there are people who would believe this.)
The guy is such a talented and entertaining writer – – it’s so disappointing that he’s drinking deep draughts from the well of Leftist idiocy.
I’m enjoying the extended version of “The Stand,” right now. I can enjoy it because I long ago developed the ability to divorce an evaluation of an artist’s creative output from his/her politics. Although, it can be trying, at times.
This sells real well in the majority of Texas…..
Assume I took the time to make a pithy comment but my incompetent carrier VERIZON WIRELESS is charging me $80 a month to throttle back and lose my internet connection randomly 3 times a day.
Crooks.
That worked so well for Wendy Davis… /s
This is hilarious – it really is the Wendy Davis campaign all over again. In fact, she ran a better campaign than Open Borders Beto is doing. His entire campaign is just naked race pandering and nothing else.
The democrats aren’t admitting to themselves that Beto has absolutely no appeal to black Texas voters, and isn’t trying to create one. They’re going to sit this one out.
Got a fake Hispanic named Beto vacuuming California money to run against a real Hispanic named Ted.
November cannot come fast enough for me to put an X by Ted’s name.
I grew up in DEMOCRAT Texas. George H.W. Bush was my high school graduation speaker and he failed to win his Senate run against Lloyd Bentsen. All of the BIG oil men were Democrats and they all worked together to scratch each others’ backs. I do NOT want to see Texas go Democrat again! Transplants, leave your liberal politics at home, where you came from, or watch Texas become the very cesspools you left.
Robert Francis O’Rourke is as much “Beto” as I am Marilyn Monroe! He’s just as much of a fraud as Wendy Davis is and is about as “accomplished” as Alexandria Whatshername in NY.
He’s at least as Beto as Cruz is Ted. He came by it honestly.
actually, his real nickname is “Buto”…
😎
Campaign Manager: Hey great idea! Photo Op of you having lunch with John Hinkley while dipping into that hot sauce made in New York City! Round Rock will love us!
Beto: For God’s sake, please, just tell me how I have wronged you?!
Oh, that’s all right, keep the money coming in. Texas has a thriving economy, but a few million more in pocket from idiot leftists can’t possibly hurt.
This is becoming standard fair for the coastal elite Left in my home state’s elections. They were even more fired up in 2014 when they swamped Abortion Barbie (aka Wendy Davis) with money to take the governorship vacated by Rick Perry. And she lost by a little more than 20% to a solid Republican, but one much less well known and revered than Senator Ted Cruz. Robert Francis (aka Beta) O’Rourke is going to find the going even more dismal than did Abortion Barbie.
In his defense, Beto has a problem. Yes, yes, he has several, but the one I’m referring to is the money problem.
Texans aren’t going to give him the money he needs to run a campaign in a big state. He has to pay for TV ads, a ground game, staff and GOTV. He has to find the money somewhere, and Ho’wood is about the only place he can go.
I’m okay with this — the wealthy D-list actors can put their money into a lost cause like Beto while other Dems who might actually win will go without.
+7-10% isn’t all that much of a spread in a red state. I have to paraphrase Hillary: why isn’t Ted ahead by +20?
Cruz isn’t as popular in Texas as Texas’ red-state status might imply. He won the GOP slot on a runoff ballot back in 2012, because the front-runner (Dewhurst) did not break 50%: Cruz 34%, Dewhurst 45%. It turned out that Ted Cruz was the 2nd choice of enough people to offset Dewhurst’s front-runner status. Even during the primary, before he dropped out, he’d only scored 28% of the primary votes to Trump’s 47%. Again, he seems to be everyone’s 2nd choice.
He should be tromping Beto. That he isn’t is very worrisome.