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Former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke made his latest stop in Beaumont on his tour around Texas. This tour is an effort to rally supporters after the recent 2024 election cycle. The event is structured as a town hall meeting where visitors are allowed to ask questions after O’Rourke’s speech. 

 

“So when you think about what is going on in the country and I know it has to be in part what brought you out here tonight,” O’Rourke said. “ This unprecedented attack on the constitution, on the rule of law, on the idea that no one is above or below that law, that we will in fact not have tyrants or kings or fascists or dictators in this country. The attack that you see on our very democracy, this right to vote, I just want you to remember where we came from, what we are made of, who we are at the end of the day. We are Americans, the most amazing people on the face of the planet today, as we have been for 249 years and counting.” 

 

The former representative was joined by various elected former and current elected officials, including Former Mayor of Port Arthur Thurman Bartie, Constable Christopher Bates and Former Mayor of Beaumont Robin Mouton, to name a few.  

 

It’s been since 2019 since O’Rourke held office and since 2022, seeking to hold office, where he challenged Greg Abbott in the gubernatorial election. Since then, he has maintained some forms of political relevance in the Texas Democratic circles by doing tours and talking to constituents, as he has recently. As of publication, O’Rourke has not announced any run for office. 

 

This recent rally was focused on the recent re-election of President Donald Trump and his administration. This tour also comes after plenty of recent changes in both the Texas Legislature and U.S. Congress. O’Rourke touched on multiple current issues such as planned cuts to Medicaid, immigration reform and foreign policy with Iran. 

Economic inequality and labor rights were a recurring theme. O’Rourke called for raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 and restoring the right of workers to organize without fear. He decried oil companies making billions in profits while workers in places like Port Arthur and Beaumont struggle.

“I looked at the profit statement of ExxonMobil for 2024,” O’Rourke said. “$34 billion to the deposit to the CEO, the executive suite and the shareholders. What would you think there’s a little bit left over for communities like Beaumont and Port Arthur?” 

In recent elections, Jefferson County has mostly held its red county status with an exception in 2018 when O’Rourke won the county with a .5% margin. Since then, Democrats have failed to gain any sort of traction in the area. O’Rourke lost his 2018 race to Incumbent and current Senator Ted Cruz by 2% of the vote statewide.  A Democrat has not held a Texas Senate seat since 1993 with Bob Krueger.

 

“You need the strongest possible candidate, who can connect with people,” O’Rourke said. “ Inspire voters to help those who have not participated in past elections, ‘how are we supposed to vote in the next one?’. You need that person in the senate, you need a person just like that at governor, you need a person just like that for attorney general, and you need someone like that for lieutenant governor, and every single race down the ballot has to have a Democrat. Look, truth be told, a lot of those races those Democrats are probably going to lose, but what they’re going to do with the process is they’re going to be connecting with voters you never otherwise reach, they’ll be setting themselves up for victories in future cycles. 

 

While O’Rourke has not announced plans to run in the next election cycle, he has left the door open to a future campaign. His Democratic compatriot Collin Allred has announced he is running for the 2026 Senate to attempt to unseat U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Allred lost to Cruz last year by 8.5% of the vote.