Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic congressman from Texas, announced via social media Thursday that he’s running for president in 2020.
“I am running to serve you as the next president. The challenges we face are the greatest in living memory. No one person can meet them on their own. Only this country can do that, and only if we build a movement that includes all of us. Say you’re in,” he wrote on Twitter.
O’Rourke sat beside his wife, Amy, in a campaign announcement video where he said, “We can begin by fixing our democracy and ensuring that our government works for everyone and not just for corporations.”
The 46-year-old used his announcement to highlight issues such as health care, immigration, criminal justice reform, climate change and support for veterans.
He also called on Americans to “confront the hard truths” about slavery, segregation
O’Rourke announced his plan to run a “positive campaign” that “seeks to bring out the very best of every one of us that seeks to unite a very divided country.”
Calls for O’Rourke to join the presidential campaign surfaced almost immediately after he lost a bid for Senate in November against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Shortly afterward, he met with former President Barack Obama and the Rev. Al Sharpton, fueling rumors that he was considering a presidential run.
During his Senate campaign, O’Rouke gained national attention for revitalizing Democratic politics in one of the country’s most conservative states. He even landed an endorsement from Beyoncé.
O'Rourke now joins the likes of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro as Democrats who have announced their bids for the White House.
The presidential hopeful invited supporters to launch his campaign in El Paso, Texas, on March 30. “The only way for us to live up to the promise of America is to give it our all,” he said.
