Beto O'Rourke confronts a formidable GOP firewall as he woos rural Texans

In 2018, Beto O’Rourke put more work into campaigning in rural Texas than perhaps any statewide Democratic candidate ever has. He visited all 254 counties, campaigning in far-flung communities where many had not seen a Democrat running for senator in their entire lifetime.

Still, he lost rural Texas by the same kind of landslide that met Democrats who came before him. O’Rourke lost to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz statewide by 3 percentage points, but the margin was 51 points in counties with fewer than 50,000 people — virtually the same deficit Hillary Clinton had against Donald Trump in those counties two years later.

Despite its dwindling population, rural Texas remains a stubborn firewall that has consistently delivered GOP statewide victories, even as Democratic support grows in the state’s populous metro centers and suburbs, and even when up against a unique Democratic talent like O’Rourke.

Now, running for governor four years later, O’Rourke is confronting the same challenge all over again.

His campaign says this race is different. After largely avoiding criticizing Cruz in 2018, O’Rourke is explicitly arguing that Gov. Greg Abbott has been bad for rural Texas on issues like broadband internet and public education. And his campaign is doing more to make his events count, engaging attendees in new ways.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/02/beto-orourke-rural-texas/