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| Beto O’Rourke, Praising Immigration, Kicks Off Presidential Campaign in El Paso | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| EL PASO — Beto O’Rourke officially kicked off his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination Saturday morning, quoting the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and praising the way immigration has enriched El Paso and the nation. | |
| Speaking at a downtown rally near the border with Mexico, Mr. O’Rourke said that his hometown El Paso, its embrace of immigration and its rich ties with Mexico, represented the best of the American experience. | |
| Quoting Dr. King, he said El Paso and its Mexican neighbor of Ciudad Juárez were “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” | |
| He added: “This is a campaign for America, for everyone in America.” | |
| His words and the setting on the street that connects El Paso with Ciudad Juárez, symbolized what his campaign said would be one of Mr. O’Rourke’s themes — a “unifying vision for bridging divides” to unite Americans from all walks of life. | |
| But the speech by Mr. O’Rourke, a former three-term member of Congress, comes at a time of extraordinary discord over immigration, with a surge of migrants trying to enter the United States and President Trump threatening to seal off the border next week. El Paso has been a flashpoint for much of that unrest with hundreds of migrants now being held in a makeshift encampment near where he spoke. | |
| [Sign up for our politics newsletter and join our conversation about the 2020 presidential race.] | [Sign up for our politics newsletter and join our conversation about the 2020 presidential race.] |
| In El Paso, and later Saturday in rallies in Houston and outside the state’s capitol in Austin, Mr. O’Rourke planned to stress climate change, criminal justice reform, health care, the economy and immigration, all topics that have emerged as major issues in the effort by Democrats to unseat Mr. Trump in 2020. | In El Paso, and later Saturday in rallies in Houston and outside the state’s capitol in Austin, Mr. O’Rourke planned to stress climate change, criminal justice reform, health care, the economy and immigration, all topics that have emerged as major issues in the effort by Democrats to unseat Mr. Trump in 2020. |
| With thousands of supporters expected to attend Saturday’s rally in El Paso, some had already headed to the site Friday night to scout the location, looking for the best position to view the speech. | With thousands of supporters expected to attend Saturday’s rally in El Paso, some had already headed to the site Friday night to scout the location, looking for the best position to view the speech. |
| “We want to be close,” said Bertha Bourgeois, 72, of El Paso, an O’Rourke booster who was watching workers assemble a media platform for his speech. “I like his views. I like how he thinks.” Volunteers wearing black-and-white BETO T-shirts began arriving at 7 a.m. Saturday in anticipation of Mr. O’Rourke’s appearance at 10 a.m. local time. | “We want to be close,” said Bertha Bourgeois, 72, of El Paso, an O’Rourke booster who was watching workers assemble a media platform for his speech. “I like his views. I like how he thinks.” Volunteers wearing black-and-white BETO T-shirts began arriving at 7 a.m. Saturday in anticipation of Mr. O’Rourke’s appearance at 10 a.m. local time. |
| The campaign also said it was live-streaming the event to 1,000 volunteer-organized watch parties across the country. | The campaign also said it was live-streaming the event to 1,000 volunteer-organized watch parties across the country. |
| El Paso Republicans, meanwhile, were set to sponsor a counter-rally one block away. | El Paso Republicans, meanwhile, were set to sponsor a counter-rally one block away. |
| [Check out our tracker of the 2020 Democratic candidate field.] | [Check out our tracker of the 2020 Democratic candidate field.] |
| Mr. O’Rourke, 46, grew up in this border town, the son of a local political figure and a furniture store operator. He had little name recognition until last year, when he became a national figure during his unsuccessful effort to unseat Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican. | Mr. O’Rourke, 46, grew up in this border town, the son of a local political figure and a furniture store operator. He had little name recognition until last year, when he became a national figure during his unsuccessful effort to unseat Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican. |
| With a progressive sheen and grass-roots appeal, Mr. O’Rourke set fund-raising records in that Senate campaign. He continued that record-setting pace in the 24 hours after announcing his White House ambitions two weeks ago, raising more than $6.1 million online in one day and outpacing the $5.9 million collected by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in his first day. | With a progressive sheen and grass-roots appeal, Mr. O’Rourke set fund-raising records in that Senate campaign. He continued that record-setting pace in the 24 hours after announcing his White House ambitions two weeks ago, raising more than $6.1 million online in one day and outpacing the $5.9 million collected by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont in his first day. |
| Some recent polls place Mr. O’Rourke at third in popularity among Democrats expected to be in the race, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet announced his intentions, and Mr. Sanders. | Some recent polls place Mr. O’Rourke at third in popularity among Democrats expected to be in the race, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet announced his intentions, and Mr. Sanders. |
| Marta Lopez, 71, a retired state worker from El Paso, had come to the rally wearing one of the BETO T-shirts. “We’ve lived here all our lives, and I feel we don’t need a wall,” said Ms. Lopez, adding that she admires Mr. O’Rourke’s positions on immigration as well as his decision not to accept PAC money. | Marta Lopez, 71, a retired state worker from El Paso, had come to the rally wearing one of the BETO T-shirts. “We’ve lived here all our lives, and I feel we don’t need a wall,” said Ms. Lopez, adding that she admires Mr. O’Rourke’s positions on immigration as well as his decision not to accept PAC money. |
| Mr. O’Rourke was to be joined at the rally Saturday by his wife, Amy, and their three children, as well as Representative Veronica Escobar, his successor in the House of Representatives. | Mr. O’Rourke was to be joined at the rally Saturday by his wife, Amy, and their three children, as well as Representative Veronica Escobar, his successor in the House of Representatives. |
| Since announcing his candidacy on March 14, Mr. O’Rourke has spent much of his time on a listening tour around the country. | Since announcing his candidacy on March 14, Mr. O’Rourke has spent much of his time on a listening tour around the country. |
| He has made immigration issues a central focus. At a recent appearance in Milwaukee, he spoke about the harmony of El Paso’s multicultural environment and added,“We have nothing to fear from immigrants from, really, anywhere in the world, but certainly those that arrive at our southern border.” | He has made immigration issues a central focus. At a recent appearance in Milwaukee, he spoke about the harmony of El Paso’s multicultural environment and added,“We have nothing to fear from immigrants from, really, anywhere in the world, but certainly those that arrive at our southern border.” |
| For his campaign kickoff, Mr. O’Rourke chose a location just over a mile north of the Paso del Norte International Bridge linking the United States and Mexico. | For his campaign kickoff, Mr. O’Rourke chose a location just over a mile north of the Paso del Norte International Bridge linking the United States and Mexico. |
| The crossing has emerged as a flash point in Mr. Trump’s efforts to seal the border. Faced with hundreds of refugees trying to enter the United States daily, border agents have begun holding the migrants in a makeshift pen beneath the bridge. Mr. O’Rourke visited the bridge earlier in the week. | The crossing has emerged as a flash point in Mr. Trump’s efforts to seal the border. Faced with hundreds of refugees trying to enter the United States daily, border agents have begun holding the migrants in a makeshift pen beneath the bridge. Mr. O’Rourke visited the bridge earlier in the week. |
| Some of the tensions shadowed Mr. O’Rourke’s event. | Some of the tensions shadowed Mr. O’Rourke’s event. |
| The rally area was partly hemmed in by a construction site. As the crowd built, several supporters of Mr. O’Rourke said they were intimidated by a gantlet of pro-Trump protesters blocking their way. | The rally area was partly hemmed in by a construction site. As the crowd built, several supporters of Mr. O’Rourke said they were intimidated by a gantlet of pro-Trump protesters blocking their way. |
| “They were just very confrontational and yelling scary stuff at us,” said Thelma Ramos, 38, of El Paso. Ms. Ramos said her 13-year-old daughter, Maya, was in tears as they walked past the Trump supporters, who were yelling, “Beto’s lying to you,” and “Build the wall.” Others carried signs saying that Mr. O’Rourke supported abortion both “before and after” birth. | “They were just very confrontational and yelling scary stuff at us,” said Thelma Ramos, 38, of El Paso. Ms. Ramos said her 13-year-old daughter, Maya, was in tears as they walked past the Trump supporters, who were yelling, “Beto’s lying to you,” and “Build the wall.” Others carried signs saying that Mr. O’Rourke supported abortion both “before and after” birth. |