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Beto O'Rourke is stepping up his efforts to confiscate assault weapons and is adopting a more agile and aggressive campaign style in order to return to relevance, even if it creates a handicap for other Democrats.
"Well, yes, we will take your AR-15, your AK-47, we will not allow it to be used on American compatriots anymore," said O. Rourke, 46, during the presidential debate democrat that took place on Thursday Houston.
The candidate, bogged down in single-digit numbers, frequently quotes mass shootings in early August, which killed 22 people in El Paso, his hometown.
O'Rourke has long resisted claiming the confiscation of the AR-15 rifles and setting up a federal firearms licensing program, but he now calls both. While he was engaged at the beginning of his campaign to refrain from swearing, he now lets F bombs drop freely on the campaign track.
"I think he saw well that he languished in the polls and that he had to do something to get back into trouble," said Democratic quarterback and pollster Brad Bannon at Washington Examiner.
Showing a lot of attention after his candidacy to the Republican Senate, Ted Cruz, who failed in the Senate in 2018, O'Rourke raised $ 6.1 million in the first 24 hours following the launch of his campaign presidential election in March. He got 9.5% support in the RealClearPolitics Democratic primary polls in early April, in third place behind Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.
O'Rourke's early enthusiasm quickly dissipated, however. It raised just $ 3.6 million from April to June and received about 3% support in recent polls.
"It almost seemed to me that he was just saying:" OK, I'm going to let it fly, I do not register at all, so I'm not going to be careful anymore, "he said. said Bannon about O 's debate performance Rourke. "And that led to a very impressive moment."
O'Rourke's hell to attack the confiscation of weapons could, however, be at the expense of the alienation of some members of his party and the endangerment of other Democrats in 2020.
"Frankly, I think this clip will be aired for years at Second Amendment rallies with organizations to scare people into telling them that Democrats are picking up your weapons," said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons on Friday. . "I do not think that asking our presidential candidates, like Congressman O'Rourke, to say that we will try to take people's arms against their will is a wise political or political decision."
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, who also wants to be named to the Democratic presidency, admitted that O'Rourke's commentary could make the Republicans' bed.
"Even when this president and even Mitch McConnell are at least pretending to be open to reforms, we know that we have a moment left. Let's get the most out of it and get it right, "Buttigieg told CNN on Sunday.
In apparent response to Buttigieg, O'Rourke was sticking to his new platform and new style. "Well, shit, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump claiming to be interested in something that is literally a matter of life and death for 40,000 Americans – that's the number of those who are killed every year because of the Armed violence – this is just not enough " O & # 39; Rourke said on Sunday.
There are signs that O'Rourke's new behavior and his performance in the debates help him return to relevance.
The former Texas Congressman recorded a 6% increase in the number of his cable stories the week of the debate compared to the previous week, and found the largest increase in the net favorability of all candidates (23.9% to 32.5%), according to a report by FiveThirtyEight / Ipsos survey. O'Rourke's campaign said he saw his biggest fundraising time this quarter during the debate.
"That at least got him back into the conversation," Bannon said, adding that O O "Rourke's tone could give him an opportunity to become a bigger player in the race."
O'Rourke was greeted by other candidates on the debate scene for his response to the filming of El Paso. "Beto, God loves you for your courage at the heart of this tragedy," said California Senator Kamala Harris.
The new approach, however, may be too little, too late. Bannon said it would have served O'Rourke a few months earlier in his campaign. "He did not take advantage of the opportunity he had at his first announcement," he said.
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