O'Rourke Pushes Back on Trump's Agenda

OMAHA (DTN) -- Beto O'Rourke is looking for a fight against President Donald Trump's policies as he tries to press for a level playing field for Democrats heading into the 2026 mid-term election.

O'Rourke, 52, a former three-term congressman from El Paso, Texas, and a former presidential candidate, spoke Tuesday night in Omaha, urging a crowd of about 500 people to fight not just against authoritarianism, but make the case for a country worth saving. O'Rourke argued that simply warning voters about what could happen in a second Trump presidency wasn't enough to help them in 2024.

"What if, instead of saving democracy, we build one that is worth saving in the first place?" he said. O'Rourke added, "It's not enough to sound the alarm. We also have to give our fellow Americans something they can fight for."

O'Rourke was in the middle of one of the country's biggest battleground races for 2026. Democrats reminded themselves of that with stickers and signs just showing a blue dot, reflective of the district's leaning and ability to cast a single Electoral College vote for a Democratic presidential candidate, though the district has been held by Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican.

Cook Political Report this week highlighted the high stakes for the Nebraska 2nd District, stating if Democrats don't capture the seat, "It's almost impossible to see them taking control of the House." The seat "shot to the top of the party's target list at the beginning of July, when GOP Rep. Don Bacon announced he wouldn't run for reelection next year," the report noted.

Reflecting the Democratic focus on Omaha's congressional district, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., will hold a separate rally in the area later this month.

The events seek to counter President Trump's own blueprint for rallies. Trump held an event in Des Moines in early July that drew thousands of supporters despite sweltering heat at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

While trying to inspire Democrats and independents in Midwest states, O'Rourke has struggled in his own recent election bids in Texas. He lost to Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 by more than 10 percentage points in 2022 after coming up 2.6 points short against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

On a tour across Midwestern states, O'Rourke has been trying to change the voting trends against Democrats. His tour hit some of the more Democratic or "purple" areas within heavily Republican states to rally people opposed to Trump's policies to reconsider supporting Democrats. He also visited Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Wednesday. He held a rally in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday. He also had events set for this weekend in Texas.

Meanwhile, O'Rourke's non-profit, Powered by the People, now is under investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for raising funds to help the 56 Texas Democratic lawmakers. Paxton alleges O'Rourke's group "bribed" Democrats into leaving the state.

O'Rourke praised the Texas Democrats who had left the state to block a Trump-backed redistricting plan that would potentially take away five seats now held by Democrats in Congress.

"These brave Democrats said, 'Over my dead body are you going to steal these five seats in Texas,' and at extraordinary risk to themselves," O'Rourke said.

Beyond Texas, Republican leaders in Nebraska are considering the possibility of redrawing the 2nd District as well. Missouri's governor has suggested possibly redistricting to change lines for two Democratic-held seats in that state. Vice President JD Vance met with Indiana Republicans to press them to consider a redistricting plan as well.

Throughout his speech, O'Rourke also repeatedly criticized the Democratic Party's campaign strategies and reliance on consultants. He said the Democrats cannot depend on narrow battleground-state strategy -- the former "blue wall" -- but must return to backing candidates across the country.

"No longer will we concede authority to the geniuses who say we're going to blow the entire wad on seven states. It's got to be all 50 (states)," he said.

O'Rourke also called for structural reforms "to build a democracy worth saving," including ending Citizens United that allows unlimited campaign funds for political races and making redistricting non-partisan. He also said Democrats must fight economic inequality with policies supporting universal health care and higher minimum wage laws.

"We are the wealthiest, most powerful country in the world, but people can't afford to go to a doctor," he said.

On the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, O'Rourke criticized cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs, saying they would have devastating impacts for lower-income people. He said the legislation was a massive shift of wealth.

"Nearly $1 trillion is being transferred from you to the wealthiest people in this country," he said.

O'Rourke also called on Democrats to not waste time using political power when they capture it -- "ruthlessly, but justly." He pointed to times in the past when Democrats gained power but failed to make changes to hotbed issues such as immigration policy. O'Rourke called for rewriting the country's immigration laws to protect people who came in illegally, but are contributing to the country's economy. Talking about Trump's deportation plans, he pointed to the $45 billion for detention centers and suggested detention policy would go beyond illegal immigrants without any checks and balances. "They will go on steroids after 2026 if we fail to stop them."

A 13-year-old attendee asked how to inspire underage students to care about politics. O'Rourke responded, "You're not old enough to vote, but you will bear the consequences of every decision being made right now. Your voice carries extra weight. You might be our conscience."

O'Rourke also invoked moments of American history -- from D-Day to the civil rights movement -- to emphasize the stakes. He noted some fights, such as civil rights, can take decades to win.

"We are the heirs to all that struggle, all that sacrifice," he said. "What we do with this grand inheritance will define us in the eyes of history."

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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