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Beto O'Rourke: “In 2018, we got within two and a half percent of Ted Cruz.”

Featuring: Beto O'Rourke, Democratic | Former Candidate, Governor of Texas

Full Interview: Beto O'Rourke on how Democrats can bring the fight in Trump's second term

Published July 22, 2025 | Video Starts at 01:53

Yeah. So the answer is honest. I don't know. The criteria that I'm thinking through are a result of my experience running for statewide office. You know, In 2018, we got within two and a half percent of Ted Cruz. It was transformational for the state of Texas. It was amazing. But at the end of the day, we didn't win. (01:53–01:57)

CLAIM

Asserts that Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Senate race was within 2.5% of Ted Cruz.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Beto O'Rourke

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“Nearly 2 million [Texans] are about to lose health insurance from changes to the ACA and the more than 1 million who will be cut from…”
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“The president proposes to cut 83,000 within the VA, most of those positions held by veterans.”
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“The city council of Lubbock, Texas, for example, passed an ordinance that forbids pregnant women from driving on their roads if they seek to…”
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“Texas is generating more renewable energy than any of the other 49 states in the union.”
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“In 2021, when it got cold, we couldn't keep the power on, the lights on, the energy flowing, the heat running. 700 Texans died, many of them…”
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“The governor has commenced a special session where they are planning to redraw up to five congressional districts to help the President…”
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“In Texas, the border counties that you carried in 2018 against Ted Cruz, more than half of them were lost in 2024.”
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“Not only did I win more Democratic votes than any predecessor, the first Democrats in 64 with LBJ to win the five major urban areas and…”
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“Ballot 12 Insurgent Democrats defeated 12 incumbent Republicans for the state House.”
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“They changed the voting laws to make Texas, bar none, the toughest state in the nation in which to register to vote and in which to cast a…”
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“More than 9 million registered Texans not casting a ballot in the gubernatorial election.”
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“By executive order on his first day in office, this president is trying to destroy [birthright citizenship] and by extension the…”
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“The jury is still out, but it looks as though a very complicit Supreme Court might endorse this lawlessness they have in some of his other…”
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“Hakeem Jeffries was able to consolidate unity in his caucus. Every single Democrat but one voted against that continuing resolution.”
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“In the Senate, Senator Schumer seemed to indicate that all Democrats would vote against it. And then at the 11th hour, he stepped back and…”
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“The council in Amarillo, a little bit higher up in the Panhandle, considered the same issue. But everyday Texans in that community…”
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“We had one job in this country which was to save this country, and we failed in that job.”
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“Running somebody who would have been the oldest president in American history... turns out that was a really bad idea.”
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“We have an embarrassment of talent in our party right now.”
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“We essentially said, look, if you're black, if you're brown, your vote is already in the bank.”
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“You cannot for granted, including those who've been with you before, I'd argue even more so considering black women who voted for Democrats…”
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“Donald Trump is a very bad guy, he's very dangerous. He's going to do bad things to you.”
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“I'm going to make sure that what you take home in pay is enough to live on so you don't have to work a second or a third job.”
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“I'm going to make sure that you can see a doctor when you're sick, before you're sick.”
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“I want you to have access to the healthy food, the clean drinking water that far too many Texans are missing.”
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“The president's polling on Immigration is at 35% right now.”
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“When we had unitary power, the White House, the House and the Senate in 2009, we did some great things, but we didn't do immigration.”
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“When we held it again in 2021, we did some great things, but we didn't do immigration.”
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“Every dreamer should be a US Citizen.”
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“We're number one in wind.”
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