Democratic presidential candidate Robert Francis O’Rourke announced that he is dropping out of the presidential race after failing to gain any traction nationally for his increasingly far-left platform, including a gun confiscation plan.
“Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively,” O’Rourke tweeted Friday. “In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.”
Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively.
In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. https://t.co/8jrBPGuX4t
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) November 1, 2019
“Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully,” O’Rourke wrote in a Medium post late on Friday. “My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee. Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee; and it is in the best interests of the country.”
The New York Times reported that O’Rourke reported that O’Rourke is not expected to run for any other office in 2020, even after donors had tried to get him to try to run for U.S. Senate again after he lost in 2018 against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
The primary issue that O’Rourke ran on was confiscating semi-automatic firearms from law-abiding citizens, which made many in his own party nervous because of how extreme the idea was and how pro-gun the United States is.
“I’m a gun owner,” Democrat Senator Chris Coons (DE) said during an interview on CNN in September. “My sons and I have gone skeet shooting and hunting and, frankly, I don’t think having our presidential candidates, like Congressman O’Rourke did, say that we’re going to try and take people’s guns against their will is a wise either policy or political move.”
“That that clip will be played for years at Second Amendment rallies with organizations that try to scare people by saying Democrats are coming for your guns,” Coons added.
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (WV) also did not approve of O’Rourke’s extreme proposal, saying in September, “Beto’s one human being. He gave his own opinion, OK? I think it was very harmful to make it look like all the Democrats. I can tell you one thing: Beto O’Rourke’s not taking my guns away from me. You tell Beto that, OK?”
“I am grateful to all the people who made up the heart and soul of this campaign. You were among the hundreds of thousands who made a donation, signed up to volunteer or spread the word about this campaign and our opportunity to help decide the election of our lifetime,” O’Rourke continued on Twitter. “Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act.”
Let us continue to fearlessly champion the issues and causes that brought us together. Whether it is ending the epidemic of gun violence or dismantling structural racism or successfully confronting climate change, we will continue to organize and mobilize and act.
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) November 1, 2019
“We will work to ensure that the Democratic nominee is successful in defeating Donald Trump in 2020. I can tell you firsthand from having the chance to know the candidates, we will be well served by any one of them, and I’m going to be proud to support whoever she or he is,” O’Rourke concluded. “Thank you for making this campaign possible, and for continuing to believe that we can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world.”
Thank you for making this campaign possible, and for continuing to believe that we can turn this moment of great peril into a moment of great promise for America and the world.
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) November 1, 2019