2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke will make his first campaign swing through Arizona this weekend, where he will hold town halls with prospective voters in Phoenix and Tucson.
O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman who gained national attention during his 2018 Senate run against Ted Cruz, has failed to break through in the same way in the presidential race.
While his campaign stumbled out of the gates, O’Rourke’s candidacy has taken on new urgency in the wake of the August 3 mass shooting that left 22 people dead in his hometown of El Paso.
The killer specifically targeted Latinos and published a white nationalist, anti-immigrant manifesto, which spurred O’Rourke to directly call out President Trump for inciting violence with his racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric. In the aftermath of the shooting, O’Rourke has also come out in favor of stronger gun safety laws, earning himself praise from gun safety activists.
While his campaign seems to have taken on a new purpose, O’Rourke continues to poll at single digits, lagging far behind Democratic frontrunners Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
O’Rourke’s Phoenix Town Hall will take place Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at The Churchill in downtown Phoenix, at 901 N. 1st Street, near Arizona State University’s campus. Anyone interested in attending can sign up here.
O’Rourke will hold his Tucson town hall at Gentle Ben’s, at 865 E. University Blvd., near the University of Arizona Campus, from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday. The town hall is being held in conjunction with the UA Democrats and is free and open to people of all ages. Those interested in attending can RSVP here.
Keya Vakil Keya is a reporter at COURIER, where he covers everything from healthcare to climate change. Prior to joining Courier Newsroom, Keya worked as a researcher in the film industry and dabbled in the political world.
