Just a few weeks after announcing his run, this candidate is forced to reassess getting in the race.
He was once considered a favorite to win the nomination.
But this Democrat presidential campaign came to a shocking collapse.
As of the writing of this article, there are no fewer than 18 Democrats vying for the nomination to take on President Trump next year.
And this number doesn’t include Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, all considered possible front runners.
But, there may be one less early frontrunner very soon.
Beto O’Rourke was considered a standout in the crowded field, at least so far.
After losing to Ted Cruz in a Texas Senate race where Beto created a “cool guy” persona, he decided to run for President.
Known for this “hipster” image and for jumping up on tables, chairs, countertops, cars and just about anything that would hold him, he is now finding out the hard way that just being everyone’s “cool” uncle, does not translate into victory.
Sure he has a young admirer asking him to prom, and there were those long lines for photographs and autographs, similar to the Ron Paul phenomenon of 2008 and 2012.
Of course, even that surge did not result in victory for Dr. Paul.
And for Beto O’Rourke, those long lines have dwindled to almost nothing, in just a few short weeks.
Take, for example, his whirlwind trip through Iowa recently.
It had all the makings of a top-tier presidential campaign hitting the key early state.
But by the time he departed the Hawkeye State after his frantic trip, it was clear the euphoria that had greeted O’Rourke’s entry into the race just three short weeks earlier was gone.
The long drudgery of duking it out for support in a packed primary has started and Beto is realizing he isn’t drawing anywhere close to the wave of national attention and support from the left that his Senate run against Ted Cruz last year received.
And Beto’s frantic sprinting across Iowa, only pausing long enough to jump up on a few counters, has not garnered the support, press coverage and crowds that his rival for the nomination, Bernie Sanders, is enjoying in his slow meandering across the state.
Many Democrat pundits and party big wigs are already writing him off as they see Bernie Sanders outperforming O’Rourke in every state, in both support and fundraising.
Even non-candidate Joe Biden is far ahead of O’Rourke in every poll.
In fact, O’Rourke has gone from a top contender to 4th or lower in every poll.
He has fallen behind Sanders, Biden, Kamala Harris, and in some polls Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren.
And most polls have Beto at an anemic six or seven percent.
If his latest swing through Iowa is any indication, expect to see those numbers plummet even more as O’Rourke tries to figure out his next moves, and even whether to stay in the race at all.
We will keep you posted on this story.
