Beto O'Rourke announces he's running for president

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By Alex Seitz-Wald

Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who drew national attention and broke fundraising records with his losing campaign against Sen. Ted Cruz last year, announced on Thursday that he is running for president, entering an already crowded primary field.

The 46-year-old former congressman from El Paso has captivated some in the party with his skateboarding, adventurous road trips shared on social media, and crossover appeal to both moderates and progressives.

In a video announcing his decision released at 6 a.m. ET, O’Rourke said: “The only way for us to live up to the promise of America is to give it our all and to give it for all of us.”

He added: “This is a defining moment of truth for this country, and for every single one of us. The challenges that we face right now; the interconnected crises in our economy, our democracy, and our climate have never been greater. And they will either consume us, or they will afford us the greatest opportunity to unleash the genius of the United States of America.”

O’Rourke is making his first tour in the 2020 cycle of first-in-the-nation Iowa, where he is expected to hold multiple events over several days to chat with voters in Mississippi River towns that have been drifting away from the Democratic Party.

O’Rourke told Vanity Fair in a lengthy cover-story profile published Wednesday, “You can probably tell that I want to run. I do. I think I’d be good at it.”

source: nbcnews.com