LEBANON, N.H. — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke Friday refused to pledge to support all Democrats in down-ballot races.
O’Rourke’s refusal occurred during a heated exchange about his unwillingness to endorse a Democrat who ran for Congress in 2018.
At an intimate living room campaign stop, Deb Nelson, chairwoman of the Upper Valley Democrats of New Hampshire, asked O’Rourke, 46, why he “refused to endorse” Democrat Gina Ortiz-Jones, who in 2018 narrowly lost a congressional race against incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, while O’Rourke “praised” the Republican incumbent.
O’Rourke called Hurd, 41, a former CIA officer, “a good friend of mine” and “someone who as a member of Congress, representing El Paso, I was able to work with,” noting that he introduced legislation with Hurd on immigration and to help veterans transition back to civilian society.
“When we prioritize our elections and our political careers over the ability to get something done when we get the chance, then I believe we defraud those that we represent. That’s the way that I felt,” O’Rourke said. “I faced my constituents every single month, and I wasn’t going to come back and say, ‘you know what, I’m no longer working with somebody in the majority who’s going to help me get this done because I want to get Republicans out and Democrats in.’”
“That friendship, our working relationship, took precedence over supporting Gina Ortiz-Jones. And I can tell that it disappoints you, and I’m sorry.”
Nelson protested, saying that O’Rourke’s endorsement could have made a difference in a close election and pointed out that O’Rourke was not seeking another term in the House. “I think party loyalty matters,” she said.
“But it’s not unconditional,” O’Rourke said. “I can’t take a pledge to support every Democrat in the country … I need to know about them first. Would you want me to make a blanket commitment about people I know nothing about, who I’ve never met?”
O’Rourke argued that his Senate race in Texas helped put the state in a better position for Democratic victories in the future. “Thirty-eight electoral votes are now in play for the next nominee from this party.”
Nelson, a public high school history teacher, said after the event that she is concerned about Beto’s stance on endorsing Democrats.
“I get friendships, I do,” Nelson said afterwards. “But in this day and age, I’ve seen too many instances where somebody befriends a Republican, and legislation that we think is important doesn’t get passed.”
Nelson is undecided in the race and said that as chairwoman of the Hanover Democrats she wouldn’t publicly support a presidential candidate until the party has its nominee. But even with her grievance about endorsements, Nelson said she would support O’Rourke in the general election if he wins the Democratic presidential nomination.
Earlier in the day at Dartmouth College, O’Rourke was asked a question in the opposite vein: how he would find common ground with Republicans to pass legislation in support of his agenda.
O’Rourke talked about finding a Republican to co-sponsor legislation in support of veterans. “If I came back to one of these town halls and said, ‘Look, I wrote the bill that you asked me to write, but these darn Republicans who are in control just don’t like veterans as much as we like veterans — help me push those Republicans out of office,’ I would’ve been laughed out of the room, voted out of office, as I should have been,” O’Rourke said.
