Beto O’Rourke to El Paso TV Station: ‘I’m Running’ for President

Failed Senate candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke has confirmed he will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, according to a local El Paso TV station.

“I’m really proud of what El Paso did and what El Paso represents,” O’Rourke said in a text message to KTSM, the local NBC affiliate Wednesday. “It’s a big part of why I’m running. This city is the best example of this country at its best.”

Text from ⁦@BetoORourke⁩ to KTSM, the El Paso TV station, confirming his run pic.twitter.com/6FER8zu21Z

— Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) March 13, 2019

O’Rourke, who appears on the April cover of Vanity Fair magazine, has flirted with the notion of running for president ever since he lost the U.S. Senate race to Ted Cruz last November.

“Man, I’m just born to be in it,” O’Rourke said to Vanity Fair about a 2020 run in a report released Wednesday.

“You can probably tell that I want to run,” O’Rourke stated. “I do. I think I’d be good at it.”

O’Rourke also explained to Vanity Fair that he would understand those that choose not to vote for him because he is a white male.

“But I totally understand people who will make a decision based on the fact that almost every single one of our presidents has been a white man, and they want something different for this country. And I think that’s a very legitimate basis upon which to make a decision. Especially in the fact that there are some really great candidates out there right now.”

O’Rourke is also set to make his first trip to Iowa this weekend to campaign for a state Senate candidate.

At a Trump opposition speech last month in El Paso, O’Rourke spoke to his supporters in both Spanish and English as he made the case for why a southern border wall is a waste of money and ineffective.