Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has been having a rough go at maintaining his media presence since he first drew attention when he announced his run back in March. But as The Inquisitr reported, he recently sparked interest by outlining some specific policy proposals — term limits for Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, and electoral reform to increase voter turnout and decrease the grip that corporate money has on politics.
Despite this, the Washington Examiner reports that at a campaign stop in Iowa on Friday, a local Democrat introduced Beto O’Rourke as a “blank slate,” which could suggest that the former Texas representative is having trouble establishing an image.
“Beto is here because he wants to hear what rural Iowa and rural America is standing for. He is going from city to city. He wants to hear what we want. He is a blank slate that is waiting to be filled by our hopes and dreams for the United States.”
After a brief silence, the audience applauded the remark.
Fox News reports that O’Rourke’s performance in recent months has been lagging. He placed sixth in a May Fox News Poll , with just 4 percent of the votes. Although this is ahead of most of the current candidates, it puts him far behind former Vice President Joe Biden (35 percent) and Bernie Sanders (17 percent.)
Beto O’Rourke in Knoxville, Iowa, being introduced by a local Dem who calls him “a blank slate waiting to be filled by our hopes and dreams.” pic.twitter.com/JvZkEwrk1R
— David Weigel (@daveweigel) June 7, 2019
If O’Rourke doesn’t have any luck with the presidential race, he appears to have a future in politics. In fact, GQ reports that a new poll from Quinnipiac University suggests that most Texas Democrats would rather he run for Senate and take on Republican Senator John Cornyn in 2020. Since O’Rourke isn’t pulling strong poll numbers, he would likely help the party more by taking a Senate seat to reduce the power of the current Mitch McConnell-led Republican Senate — an issue that would hinder the eventual Democratic nominee, even if they beat President Donald Trump in the general election.
Regardless, O’Rourke’s recent policy rollout could give life to his campaign. His campaign claims that it will add 50 million people to U.S. voter rolls and boost voter turnout by 65 percent by 2024.
“We’re facing some of the greatest challenges of our lifetimes, and we can’t solve them with half-measures or only half our people—it’s going to take all of us.”
“The only way to make progress is if every single American is empowered to vote,” he continued, adding that people that have been pushed to the sidelines of U.S. Democracy will have a stronger voice, which he believes will help the country fully realize its potential.
