I would probably think more about the three, double-digit mass shootings in the last three years in Texas than an honest politician questioning my need for an assault rifle.
Beto very well could have beat Cornyn if he had turned his focus to that race immediately following 2018. He has absolutely zero chance of winning anything in Texas ever now. What a waste of political talent/capital.
He's a fantastic organizer but his days of running for non local politics are over. If Biden offers him a job he should take it.
This is about the importance of knowing your audience. I don't follow Beto enough to know about how what he said was genuine or him attempting to really differentiate himself in a crowded Democratic Presidential primary field. Given where TX is at though that is going to make it very hard for him to win statewide in TX.
He could probably win a seat in Congress. But not the senate with his anti-gun remarks, he screwed the pooch there. Or he could move to another state, establish residency and try for the senate.
Beto is too much of a known commodity in Texas now and whatever he says on the campaign trail won't matter cause I think opinions are already in for him. I think he's pretty much done in Texas politics unless he wants to go back to the House. As an organizer like Stacy Abrams, it sounds like that would be the best place for him, but his Powered by the People group failed pretty terribly in 2020. Democrats actually lost ground in Texas especially in the significant Latino areas in the Valley. So Beto is sort of a guy without a home right now in the party. I don't really know where his place is, but I can tell you that it won't be as Governor. If the Democrats are listening to me I would instruct them to get the best person to speak to Latino non-voters. Joaquin Castro??... not sure. Lina Hidalgo??... that's an interesting choice, but not sure. Veronica Escobar maybe. Colin Alred should be the candidate running against Cruz for his Senate seat. Ex-NFL player.. fairly moderate positions.
The Castros have never shown a desire to run a statewide race in Texas. Say what you will about Beto, but his 2018 campaign showed the level of drive and engagement that needs to be a baseline for Texas Democrats. I don't think the Castros want to do that.
Yep, he could have done some good for Texas, instead he went with a dipsh!t Presidential campaign with dipsh!tter execution.
Yeah from a turnout perspective, 2018 shows what is possible, and I think that should be the floor moving forward. Not the ceiling. Which makes 2020 a confusing election for Texas. There's also the fact that so many people voted for both Beto and Abbott. Was that just cause Cruz is vile, or are we missing something else. I'm not sure who the candidate is, but I am sure that the votes are there if the Democrat can turnout latino voters. Especially non-voting latinos. I don't know that it's necessarily a person more than it is a policy platform. The issue of gun rights is a red herring, and just puts people in their natural corners. The next candidate has to not let that consume the campaign which I fear will be the primary issue with Beto. Not that enough voters in Texas want gun laws, but that it'll just take away from the airspace needed to get the policy platform out to those non-voters.
If he would just "politic" his stance he would win. He would have beat the Zodiac Killer and got Senate power but instead he chose to be "right" and be powerless then be "wrong" and win power to make changes. To naïve to win, maybe he learned his lesson, gotta win first to actually do anything.
There is a strong bloc of latinos in Texas that like Trump, They did some great targeting of latinos in Texas I think that was the difference between 2018 and 2020.
i view him as a boyish-looking goofball who likes to jump on tables and is so desperate to be in politics that he runs for whatever office is available. trying to run for president after he lost the senate race made no sense. most people dont like career politicians and here is a dude who is just chasing any political job he can. he comes off to me as lacking substance...hes obama-lite. its just all "feelings" and his "youthful energy". his gun comments were dumb, but remember that trump also called for gun confiscation and his brainwashed supporters didnt care. so if any of your trumper friends/relatives bring that up about beto be sure to remind them that trump called for the exact same thing. he does not stand a chance of winning governor in texas, which of course means the democratic party will nominate him. it might be close and then texas dems will talk about how we're turning purple and its only a matter of time before a dem wins in texas...same thing theyve been saying for almost 20 years now. i do believe texas would vote dem, just not for the ones they keep running. they need to pick better candidates.
I'm for additional gun control (at least close the gun show loophole) but that's a very dumb statement that will always haunt him unless he retracts that statement. No law enforcement official is going to want to come knocking at the door of a normal law abiding individual/family to take your gun. Someone is going to die.
