AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – When it comes to a 2020 presidential run, Beto O’Rourke is still playing hard to get – even as the buzz around him intensifies.
The three-term Democratic congressman murmured “No decision. No decision on that,” when pressed by an attendee during a town hall Friday in his native El Paso who playfully demanded: “You’re going to run for president, right?”
A onetime punk rocker, O’Rourke became a political star in national liberal circles, raised $80-plus million and came within three percentage points of upsetting Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas in nearly a quarter century. The 46-year-old is giving up his House seat and has said he’ll wait until he finishes his term Jan. 3 before making up his mind on 2020.
Amid his indecision, O’Rourke’s name has continued to rise among top potential Democratic presidential candidates – even climbing to at or near the top in some opinion polls.
Later asked at the town hall about the “immense pressure” the eventual Democratic presidential nominee competing with President Donald Trump and his combative campaigning style could face to refrain from going negative, O’Rourke said “interesting, speculative question.”