Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, met with Barack Obama as he considers making a 2020 presidential bid.
The former Democratic candidate, who took on Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in the 2018 midterms, met with the former president in his offices in Foggy Bottom Nov. 16, according to a Washington Post report.
O’Rourke became a popular candidate in Hollywood among celebrities such as singer Beyonce, basketball star LeBron James, and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, in an attempt to turn Texas blue.
His campaign also brought in more money than other candidate in the nation.
Sources close to the O’Rourke campaign told the Post that Obama offered several times to help the campaign, including traveling to Texas for a rally or recording a robo-call offering his endorsement.
The candidate, however, said that he was not interested in an Obama endorsement.
“I don’t think we’re interested [in an endorsement],” O’Rourke said after a town hall at a local high school. “I am so grateful to him for his service, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest presidents. And yet, this [election] is on Texas.”
Obama also reportedly recorded a video for the O’Rourke campaign that was never used.
Cruz still won re-election, but the race was much closer than typical for a red state like Texas.
Since his loss, the Post notes that Obama aides have been encouraging Beto to run for president, claiming that he has the same sort of potential for an inspiration campaign that Obama had in 2008.
O’Rourke vowed during his Senate campaign not to run for president in 2020.
