Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumFor Beto O'Rourke, will Tuesday be opportunity or calamity?
Beto ORourkes campaign has all of the outward signs of what his run for the presidency was supposed to be and what his most devoted supporters believe it still can be. Hes collecting millions of dollars in campaign donations, has hired a series of experienced Democratic operatives and is paying his field organizers eye-popping wages, probably the highest in the field. ORourke has quickly built a large operation in Iowa, with 11 offices scattered across the state, and he welcomed crowds of at least 100 during his last two town halls there.
But those images belie the struggles hes facing: spending money more quickly than he is raising it, polling nationally between 1 percent and 3 percent in the past month, and trying to convince voters he has the experience and vision to be president. After a first debate appearance that raised alarm among his major donors, there is ever-increasing pressure on ORourke to shine at Tuesdays debate and remind Democrats why so many thought he could be a front-runner just a few months ago.
ORourke says he is now taking an approach of me being me, ... ORourke and those close to him are convinced that if he just meets enough people especially in Iowa, which will hold the nations first nominating contest in February he can surge ahead. Still, the more time ORourke has spent in Iowa, the worse he has done in statewide polls. ORourke is at about 1 percent in the state, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll earlier this month, a decline from polls earlier in the year.
ORourke held a Friday night town hall at a Sioux City bar that attracted about 125 people. The next afternoon, about 100 people showed up to hear ORourke speak at a coffee shop in Sioux Center. ORourkes staff marveled at his crowds, but that same weekend in the same area, nearly 300 people showed up to a Friday morning event with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/for-beto-orourke-tuesdays-debate-looms-large-will-it-be-opportunity-or-calamity/2019/07/26/44746572-ad77-11e9-8e77-03b30bc29f64_story.html?utm_term=.a3d80f3ea895
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
calguy
(5,306 posts)that he's not yet ready for the big time. I don't see him breaking out......ever.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
crazytown
(7,277 posts)The debate is an opportunity
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
cwydro
(51,308 posts)My thought is that the others will essentially ignore him.
Hes going to really have to step up to gain any momentum.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Politicub
(12,165 posts)Some will think he did outstanding job even if public opinion doesn't swing his way; others will think he's terrible even if public starts to favor him.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
RLG
(314 posts)Wake me up when the Hickenlooper/Klobuchar/Bennet/Inslee/Delaney/Yang will Tuesday/Wednesday be opportunity or calamity stories are published.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)The others did not have that. Somehow he has managed to squander it.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
DesertRat
(27,995 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
DesertRat
(27,995 posts)He has money pouring inbut more pouring out. Unless he shows a significant bump in the polls, he may soon have no choice but to bow out. But even if that happens, his voice will continue to be an important one in the Democratic party.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden