Over the past weekend, The Washington Post ran a story about Beto O’Rourke losing the support of even the Texans who enthusiastically threw money and votes at him last fall when he failed to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), which I wrote about here.
The one-time media-made juggernaut’s star is falling and the only one who doesn’t seem to know that is Beto himself:
In only 90 days, you raised $3,647,729.32. No PACs, just people — powered by 119,888 contributions at an average of $30. Proud of what we're doing across the country and grateful that you're a part of it.
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) July 16, 2019
WaPo provides some perspective:
Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign raised $3.7 million in the second quarter of this year — far less than the roughly $6 million that his campaign said it collected on the first day of his candidacy.
When O’Rourke got into the race four months ago at the urging of fans, he was expected to be a magnet for political donations, having raised $80 million for his unsuccessful Senate race in Texas last year. During the first 17 days of his presidential campaign, he raised $9.4 million.
The campaign’s second-quarter haul looks bad enough when compared to its own previous numbers, but is pathetic when put up against those of the front-runners:
The top Democratic fundraisers so far, based on federal filings and self-reported figures: South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg ($24.8 million); former vice president Joe Biden ($21.5 million); Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts ($19.1 million); Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (about $18 million); Sen. Kamala D. Harris of California (nearly $12 million).
Mayor Pete sitting atop the fundraising list for the quarter has to really sting, as he is basically the new Beto in the hearts of the mainstream media.
After Beto lost to Ted Cruz last fall, my many liberal comedian friends almost immediately consoled themselves with stories of Beto becoming the next president. The entertainment industry corner of my Facebook feed was brimming with enthusiasm for a Beto presidential run.
I found it all very amusing and quite enjoyed raining on their wishful parades by telling them that he wouldn’t even come close.
Democrats revel in the ability of the media to create phenom candidates for them but never grasp that the media is fickle and can render a candidate irrelevant just as quickly.
After a stunning financial debut earlier this year, O’Rourke is now in Jay Inslee fundraising territory.
The difference is Inslee raised more in the second quarter than he did in the first.
Beto may soon be looking up at him.
If he is still in the race, that is.
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