Former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke has been actively hiring staffers in preparation for a likely 2020 presidential bid, according to a report published on Saturday.
Senior advisers have begun meeting with O’Rourke to lay the foundation of a presidential run, which includes reaching out to Democratic operatives and potential staffers for positions within his campaign, reported NBC News.
After Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defeated O’Rourke in November 2018, the former El Paso congressman revealed that he was mulling over running for president in 2020, despite repeatedly claiming that the answer to whether he will run or not is a “definitive no.”
While he has not formally announced his bid for the presidency, O’Rourke has been polling as a top three contender for the Democratic nomination.
Mirroring his unsuccessful campaign model, O’Rourke embarked on a solo road trip in January to meet voters, where he had been chronicling the trip on social media and raising some eyebrows with bizarre antics such as a Instagram live stream from his dental hygienist’s chair.
O’Rourke’s team sent out an email blast on Saturday teasing a “big announcement” and inviting supporters to be the first to hear any news. The email was sent as O’Rourke appeared at a screening of the documentary “Running for Beto” during South by Southwest’s (SXSW) 2019 conference.
“There’s been an outpouring of speculation, excitement, and support from people across the country — everyone eagerly waiting for the news,” the email read. “Many of us are crossing our fingers and hoping that Beto has decided to run.”
.@BetoORourke‘s camp emails supporters asking them to sign up to be “first to hear Beto’s big announcement.” There’s no date on when the announcement will come. #tx2020 pic.twitter.com/ucFitpJlRo
— Alexandra Samuels (@AlexSamuelsx5) March 9, 2019
After months of speculation, O’Rourke announced in February that he had made a decision on his political ambitions. While he ruled out running again for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, he stopped short of revealing if his decision included launching a challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020.
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