Beto O’Rourke has lost the election – but he’s won the war
Beto O’Rourke has officially lost his upstart bid to unseat Ted Cruz in the Senate, by a margin of what appears to be around three points. This is severely disheartening news for those in Texas, and those around the nation, who believed that his inspiring candidacy might be enough to improbably turn the reliably red state of Texas blue. But that’s only half the story.
When you look at the deep red voting demographics of Texas, a Democrat had absolutely no business being competitive in this race. Yes, Ted Cruz is a creepy weirdo who’s not even well-liked within his own Republican Party. But the point is that the GOP should have been able to run an upturned mop with a bucket for a head in this race, and still safely won.
In other words, Beto O’Rourke did the impossible just by coming close in this race, and it sets him up for a big future in politics. The voting demographics say that Texas, thanks to a shifting racial balance, is set to turn blue in perhaps 2020, or 2024 by the latest. So if Beto decides to run against Ted Cruz again in six years, he’ll likely win. But that’s assuming he wants to limit himself to Texas.
We have no idea what Beto O’Rourke will decide to do next. But he’s established himself as a viable Democratic Party rising star who’s more popular nationwide than he is in Texas. He can run for President of the United States in 2020 or 2024 if he so chooses. He has nationwide momentum for whatever office he decides to seek next – and that means he’s won the war.
