Why Texas Democrats are betting on Beto O'Rourke

[blogslut]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/opinion/beto-orourke-ted-cruz-texas-senate-race.html

::: Older Democrats like to compare him to the Kennedys, in his politics and looks. (He is handsome and toothy, with a thatch of shimmering brown hair.) Millennials like him because he once played in a punk band called Foss, because he started a software company, and because he has a few things in common with Bernie Sanders. Like hin, Beto promises to go it alone, without support from consultants and political action committees.

Mr. O’Rourke also knows how to brawl. He pulled off two upsets, the first to become a city councilman, and the second and more important in his 2012 congressional victory against Silvestre Reyes, a 16-year incumbent who is Mexican-American.

Mr. O’Rourke also does savvy social media. When a snowstorm closed Washington airports in March, Mr. O’Rourke and a fellow Texan congressman, the Republican Will Hurd, livestreamed their road trip from Texas to the Capitol, the subtext being that some Democrats and some Republicans can occupy the same space without looking like they’re auditioning for Comedy Capers. Besides, it was a neat way for Mr. O’Rourke to introduce himself to a national audience: Along with traditional media outlets, 2.6 million Facebook viewers checked out the guys as they chomped on junk food in between discussions of Big Issues. They even got a shout out from Mark Zuckerberg. :::