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O & # Rourke at a public meeting during his cross-tour of the state
A rising star of the Democratic Party could win an improbable victory in the upcoming mid-term US elections by toppling a reputable Republican in the traditionally conservative Texas state.
Robert Francis "Beto" O 'Rourke jumps on a small stage in Edinburg, wildly waving his arms, his 193 cm (6 feet 4 inches) of rump body overflowing with energy.
His toes extend well beyond the edge of the boards and his suede shoes absorb black splashes of sweat on his forehead.
Mr. O. Rourke, who has represented El Paso and his environs in the United States House of Representatives since 2013, comes to the Senate – and you can not blame him.
"Everyone is welcome," he smiles to the general public, insisting that the invitation even extends to the "Make America Great Again" man's cap.
For at least today, the offer is rhetorical.
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Many supporters of O 'Rourke are young voters or voters for the first time.
There is no red and white Donald Trump hat in sight and, one might suspect, a few rare ones in Hidalgo County, where Edinburg bakes in the Rio Grande Valley, just north of the Mexican border.
It is a deeply Hispanic, deeply democratic territory. You can spend a lot of time here before hearing a word of English.
While Texas voted for President Trump in 2016, with 52 percent of the vote, compared with 52 percent for Hillary Clinton, Hidalgo County opted for the Democratic Party between 68 percent and 28 percent.
Mr. O. Rourke may not have Latin roots, but he is fluent in Spanish and relies heavily on his nickname "Beto" – a current Roberto contraction – that he learned when he was a child in El Paso.
But the Congressman does not just campaign on favorable ground. He spent most of the year criss – crossing Texas, boasting of visiting 254 of his counties.
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It seems that he is following a two-pronged strategy, enthralling his left-wing base by calling for a reform of the criminal justice and immigration laws while trying to attract Trump's disillusioned supporters into promising improved education and universal health care – and calling both groups accusing the White House of lavishing a gigantic tax cut on billionaires at the expense of ordinary Americans.
The greatest encouragement comes when it promises to end the link between politics and big business, to dry the swamp if you want.
He is almost drowned while he looks at the audience and says, "I see people rather than companies! I see people rather than special interests!"
Mr. O. Rourke's passionate performance, his beautiful appearance, and his past as a skateboarder and punk rocker, appealed to Liberals across the country, establishing flattering comparisons with another US-Irish hero. , the hero of modern American liberalism, Bobby Kennedy.
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A huge crowd of more than 50,000 people welcomed him, as well as Willie Nelson
Mr. O 'Rourke said he is "open to" to replace the highly controversial agency charged with the enforcement of immigration and customs laws (ICE). He is in favor of tightening the restrictions on firearms and said he would vote to dismiss President Trump.
On Saturday, he took the stage in the state capital, Austin, left, with country music legend Willie Nelson, briefly joining the chorus of On the Road Again. Tens of thousands of Texans flocked to watch.
The Dallas Morning News has described Mr. O. Rourke's speech as "passionate" and "overflowing with optimism."
"We will not be defined by our fears, if we allow this to happen, we build walls, we ban people because of their religion, we describe the press as the enemy of the people", a- he said, reprimanding President Trump.
"We should be defined by our ambitions, our aspirations."
Mr. O. Rourke has benefited from a plethora of small donations from all over the United States, raising millions of dollars more than his rival in a race that could help determine who will control Congress during the next two years of the Trump presidency.
Democrats are the first to want to take control of the House of Representatives, but are fighting a lot harder for the Senate, where they need a net gain of two seats, but are defending 10 seats in states that M Trump won in 2016.
The man who is trying to meet this challenge is Ted Cruz, a former (and possibly future) presidential candidate who led Trump in reverse for the Republican nomination in 2016.
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Mr. Cruz is in many ways the opposite of his rival, a clever advocate with a precise and studied delivery and a leftist bane who is also infamous for attracting the enmity of some Republican colleagues in Washington.
Yet, with his campaign slogan "Tough as Texas", he embodies the strong tendency toward conservative self-reliance that runs through the heart of this vast rural state, which is as much a part of his identity as cowboy boots and cowboy boots. barbecue sauce.
He should walk towards re-election.
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Cruz is a darling of the evangelical wing of the Republican Party
The polls varied considerably, with some surveys suggesting that Mr. Cruz had a reasonable lead and more recent data indicating a tight race.
Whatever the case may be, in the hometown of Buddy Holly, Lubbock, northwest of the state, Mr. Cruz takes no chances.
He spends most of his speech bumping Mr. O. Rourke, whom he accuses of taking "radical" positions on drugs, police, immigration and the right to bear arms .
Mr. Cruz punctuates his critics with the phrase that pleases the crowd: "and this is not Texas!"
"It's a debate between two approaches," he told his extremely white audience, "between socialism and the American free enterprise system: between tyranny and freedom … between the crazy left and the great people of the state of Texas ".
This attracts a lot of joy. Here, they love the style of the man in ostrich leather boots.
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When asked what he likes about the senator, a member of the crowd, Monti Bandiber responds by uttering only three words: "his conservative values".
"I really love her morals," says another supporter, Lyn Vandiver. "I think he's a very Christian man, and that's the most important thing for me."
On the other hand, she regards Mr. O. Rourke as a "liar" both for his account of the events surrounding a youth conviction for impaired driving and for the way he spoke of his support for Black athletes who were kneel at sporting events during the national anthem. protest against police violence and racial inequality.
This stress on morality is interesting given the identity of the current president, a man who has boasted that he can boast of being able to impose on women because of his fame.
Mrs. Vandiver does not personally like Mr. Trump, knowing that Mr. Cruz exchanged insults with the real estate mogul in New York during the presidential campaign, calling him a "pathological liar," "totally amoral "and" serial philanthropist ". .
Now the Texas senator is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Trump's dominance over his party is such that a Republican candidate can not be rude to him and expect popular support.
This is how Mr. Cruz praises the president and his policy, swallowing a pinch of hypocrisy mixed with some humiliation.
This is another reason why he spends as much time as possible attacking Mr. O. Rourke as a "socialist", vulgar word in most of the United States and especially in Texas, who is to scorn the government.
When I point out to Mr. Cruz that his opponent has not actually advocated state ownership of the means of production – a widely accepted definition of socialism – the senator retorts "he supports socialized medicine".
The senator adds that "as Margaret Thatcher said, the problem of socialism is that you end up running out of other people's money."
Curiously, when I ask the same question to Mr. O. Rourke, are you in favor of common ownership of the means of production, he is shy.
It's hard to think of another traditional American politician who would respond with anything other than the word "no".
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But even with many chances, Mr. O. Rourke does not disavow socialism as a creed, but insists that "the party labels do not count anymore, I'm convinced of that." neither a republican nor a democrat, we are standing in this campaign ".
"Investing in everyone's ability to be fit enough to live to their full potential" does not need a label, he added, adding that "it's also the most conservative thing possible on the financial plan".
Matthew Wilson, an associate professor of political science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said that O. Rourke was "quite left" of other Texan Democrats and that he managed to appear more moderate.
According to Professor Wilson, it will be interesting to see if voters are "more interested in someone who has a conciliatory style" or "by evaluating the ideological substance of positions".
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A truck sponsored by a pro-democracy group presents a tweet from Trump criticizing Mr. Cruz
In the suburbs of Dallas, Deep Ellum, many young people are interested in both.
In The Three Links, which offers drinkers the chance to try out punk karaoke (we're treated to a decent Kids in America release), Beto Ours Rourke's supporters got together to watch the two contestants. To fight in a TV show. debate.
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"You can not go one mile to Dallas without seeing Beto sign," said Chris Cude, 29, a lawyer. "They attract people who want to be part of it, and it's associated with a younger, more adaptable, more tolerant and millennial crowd."
Sunny Gruber, a 30-year-old computer scientist, also noticed a profusion of Beto black-and-white signs in the city and "a lot of people campaigning for Beto," which she describes as "really exciting and exciting for the campaign." 39; America. "
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Cruz fans take a selfie before the September debate
Success in the big cities of Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio is one thing, but Mr. O. Rourke faces a daunting challenge in that he also wants to win rural voters.
While Ted Cruz plays on fears about the impact of a Democratic Senate victory in Texas, comparing his challenger against Democratic Socialist presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Beto O 'Rourke projects a message of hope , trying to tap into the same disenchantment Mr. Trump at the White House.
Mr. O. Rourke's task remains very difficult.
For years, Democrats have been waking up disappointed in Texas' dream of victory, where they have not won a seat in the US Senate for 30 years.
Nevertheless, Texas is changing, becoming more urban and less and less white, and if Mr. O. Rourke can generate a high turnout, a liberal victory in the Lone Star State does not seem more impossible, which in itself is quite remarkable.
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