AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A former punk-rocker who needed a hefty upset to win his congressional seat six years ago will have to pull off an even bigger one to unseat powerful Sen. Ted Cruz.
Beto O’Rourke, a 44-year-old Democrat from the remote West Texas city of El Paso, has advocated for legalizing marijuana and preaches tolerance on the U.S.-Mexico border in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “Build that wall” mantra.
On Friday, O’Rourke should formally announce his 2018 Senate candidacy against Cruz, a conservative who finished second to Trump in last year’s GOP presidential primary.
The third-term congressman and fluent Spanish speaker is the kind of rising political star Democrats hope can help begin turning deep red Texas blue, aided by a booming Hispanic population and state politics pushed even farther right by Trump and Cruz. He first made a name for himself playing guitar for Foss, an El Paso punk rock that included drummer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who went on to play for the Grammy Award-winning act The Mars Volta.
But before O’Rourke can challenge Cruz, he’ll have to emerge from a Democratic primary field that could include another up-and-comer, fellow Rep. Joaquin Castro from San Antonio.