Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Beto O’Rourke has been serving in Congress ever since 2012. Up until last year, Beto was not as popular as he is now since he announced that he is challenging the Republican Ted Cruz.
Ever since he announced his campaign, O’Rourke has been going all around the state visiting the different counties, meeting the Texan citizens, and listening to what every person has to say. With the support of the people, O’Rourke hopes to be the first Democrat to win a statewide election ever since 1994, which is when Bob Bullock was re-elected lieutenant governor.
There are probably lots of facts and plenty of information that voters do not know about the Democrat candidate, Beto O’Rourke. Therefore, make sure to be well informed on November 6 before filling out your ballots.
Political and Personal Background
Once the Democrat candidate graduated from Columbia University and got a degree on English in 1995, he worked for a while in New York; there, he worked in a Manhattan web technology company. Once he returned home, El Paso, O’Rourke co-founded Stanton Street Technology― a web development company. In 2005, he was elected to serve on the El Paso City Council, in which he served up until 2011.
In 2012, O’Rourke was elected to a seat in Congress where he became the leader of any issues concerning veterans. While in Congress, O’Rourke serves the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs; he is also involved in the subcommittees of Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Strategic Forces, and Health.
All of this talk about Beto O’Rourke’s background is pretty interesting, but where does he stand in issues such as abortion, guns, and the environment?
Other Issues
Abortion
O’Rourke believes that one should be able to decide what to do with their bodies, therefore he is pro-abortion rights. He has argued against lawmakers that want to shut down women’s health clinics in Texas which make it way more complicated for women to access safe places to get an abortion. The candidate also voted against a bill that did not let women get an abortion at 20 weeks as “it would endanger the lives and health of women in Texas.”
Guns
While still respecting the second amendment, O’Rourke wants to ban assault weapons and make background checks happen. He plans on introducing a universal background checks which will lead to federal background checks for most gun sales.
He also voted against a legislation that would allow licenses from other states be valid in Texas since it compromises the safety of our state.
Environment
Respectful to Mother Earth, O’Rourke supports environmental regulations to protect the country for future generations. When El Paso’s Castner Range was in danger of development, he fought to protect it from commercial enterprise and roads.
Education
Every Texan has the right to a quality education, therefore the Democrat candidate plans on having the taxpayer money go towards public schools, and not private. He also plans on increasing the public funding in those communities in which they have low resources. Since every individual should be treated equality, O’Rourke wants to attack every legislation, such as Senate Bill 6, and any others that discriminate students based on their sexual orientation.
This article is part of a series organized by the writers of the club iBee to inform voters about the candidates before they go out and vote.
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