Rosie O’Donnell ‘Maxed Out’ Donations to Unseat Ted Cruz

O'Rourke-O'Donnell
AP Photos
Bob Price
El Paso, TX

Rosie O’Donnell “maxed out” her donations to Texas Democrat senate candidate, U.S. Representative Beto O-Rourke (D-TX).

O’Rourke announced his bid to unseat Texas’ freshman Senator Ted Cruz in March, Breitbart Texas reported. O’Rourke currently represents the far west Texas District that includes El Paso. Texans have never elected a person from El Paso to the U.S. Senate. O’Rourke’s anti-gun and other leanings place him in a disadvantaged position to unseat a popular Republican senator who finished second in a field of 17 major candidates, the largest ever U.S. presidential primary race. Cruz has a war chest filled with cash and a proven ability to raise millions.

The O’Donnell donation is not the first episode. During a recent trip to Lubbock, he scheduled a downtown rally for noon on Sunday, a time many Texas Panhandle families reserve for church and family, not politics.

Last month, Rosie O’Donnell tweeted “I just donated MAXED OUT to @BetoORourke’s campaign against Ted Cruz.”

Incumbent Senator Ted Cruz took the opportunity to draw attention to O’Rourke’s support from O’Donnell, tweeting, “Out of touch liberals from across the US are trying to turn TX blue. We won’t let them.”

This is not the first time the Hollywood left has attempted to paint Texas blue. The 2014 gubernatorial campaign of Wendy Davis drew major support from west coast donors, but failed at the ballot box. Then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott defeated the Democrat state senator by nearly 1 million votes. Davis did, however, understand Texas voters enough to posture pro-gun positions–much to her limited base’s chagrin.

O’Rourke wears his anti-gun politics like other Texans would wear a .45 on their hip. O’Rourke drew national attention in the summer of 2016 when he staged a live-streamed House Floor “sit-in” calling for stricter gun-control measures, a highly unpopular position for a potential statewide Texas politician.

What O’Rourke does appear to have faked, is a contempt for political consultants. During the representative’s campaign launch, O’Rourke told reporters he would not be hiring campaign consultants claiming he wanted to “remain true to his convictions,” the Texas Tribune reported. “My heart’s in it, I want to do this, I’m driven to do it. I’m not poll-testing it. I’m not consulting with consultants,” O’Rourke told the Dallas Morning News.

However, campaign reports released in April show O’Rourke hired at least two consulting firms, the Texas Tribune reported. When they challenged the west Texas representative, he sidestepped and stated he is only using the consultants for technical services. He reportedly paid the two “vendors” just under $30,000 during the first quarter of his campaign.

O’Donnell’s statement that she “MAXED OUT” her donations to O’Rourke means she has donated $2,700 to his primary campaign. The Federal Election Commission limits donations to senate and congressional candidates to $2,700 per person per election cycle. As for Rosie, she responded to Cruz’ tweet with a message of her own, “TED CRUZ HAS 2 GO.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.

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