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Beto O'Rourke: “Smith vs Allwright, 1944... was transformational for…”

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

Exclusive Texas Take interview with Beto O'Rourke: "We will live in a fascist country"

Published January 21, 2026 | Video Starts at 23:44

Or, you know, you've been defeated time after time again. Why don't you just give up and give in and just accept that this is how it's going to be? Not only did … Smith vs Allwright, 1944... was transformational for American democracy. … easy, but if we leave the field of this battle, then we concede the victory to these other guys. And I'm not about to do that. Well, and. (23:44–24:05)

CLAIM

Asserts that the Supreme Court decision in Smith vs Allwright was a pivotal moment for American democracy.

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

“We piloted this program in 2024, and those young voters, 18 to 29 year olds, that came through our program turned out at a rate of 80%.”
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“18 to 29 year olds nationally turned out at a rate of 42%. In Texas, that same demographic turned out at a rate of 37%.”
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“Five [Capitol police officers] took their lives in the days following [the January 6th insurrection attempt].”
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“Texas outlawed voting by Black Texans in 1923.”
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“17 black women elected to judicial positions in Harris County.”
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“For the first time in Texas history, as far as records go back, we have a Democrat contesting every state House race, every state Senate…”
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“Donald Trump [is] the absolute worst of us.”
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“We have Democrats running all across the state, the big races that you're going to be talking about on the show, and a little unknown races…”
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“If we'd had someone like James Talarico or Jasmine Crockett running for Lieutenant governor or Attorney general, imagine the resources, the…”
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“The Democratic electorate over the course of these next few months leading into March 3, will make that decision at the most exciting race…”
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“They want to defeat Trumpism and this MAGA movement, and they want to deliver for the people of Texas.”
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“If Democrats lose, then the consolidation of power in the hands of the president will be unstoppable.”
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“We will live in a fascist country where it will be completely normal, not exceptional, as it is now for masked plainclothes federal agents…”
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“The corruption and criminality that we see from the Trump crime family and their associates will be the de facto fascist state ruling party…”
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“If Democrats win, and if we win congressional races in Texas, and if we win this Senate race, which is what puts us over to 51 votes in the…”
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“Trump sees that right. He understands that Democrats with subpoena power as committee chairs in Congress in 2027 are going to bring his…”
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“State House Democrats... left the state of Texas to deprive the Republican counterparts of a quorum necessary to pass those maps.”
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“We spent more than $400,000... in our legal defense.”
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“The 15th Circuit Court, every single one of whose judges was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott.”
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“The 15th Circuit Court... ruled overwhelmingly in our favor.”
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“Democrats who've held positions of power and public trust [have] squandered that opportunity to help the people that they purport to serve.”
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“This system does not work. It absolutely must be rebuilt and remade in the image of the average Texan.”
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“I don't know that Lena Hidalgo, right, is a county judge of Harris county, fully flipping that county into our column.”
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“When I ran for Congress against an entrenched incumbent who outspent me four to one, I won.”
Exclusive Texas Take interview with Beto O'Rourke: "We will live in a fascist country" | Uploaded January 21, 2026 | 34:18-34:23
“I went door to door 16,000 times myself personally and met the voters who were going to decide the outcome of that election.”
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“Texas is the most voter suppressed state in the union.”
Exclusive Texas Take interview with Beto O'Rourke: "We will live in a fascist country" | Uploaded January 21, 2026 | 36:09-36:18
“It's harder to cast a ballot, it is harder to register to vote in this state than it is in any of the other 49 in the union.”
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“Republicans literally changed the laws around voting to make it harder for people that they assume are going to be Democrats.”
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“Removing the early voting location from the largest university in the state of Texas at Texas A and M.”
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“In the state of Texas, you might have questions about the candidates. We're a partisan organization.”
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“We took a voting rate for 18 to 29 year olds from 37% statewide to those 18 and 29 year olds that we registered and brought into our program…”
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“Donald Trump has never been more unpopular nationally. He's also underwater, as you know, in the state of Texas.”
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“His policies, whether it's cutting Medicaid in a state that's already the least insured in the nation, or keeping people in the basement…”
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“ICE agents raiding construction sites in, in my hometown [El Paso].”
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“They're raising tens of millions, both of them, which is awesome for Texas because it will all be spent in the state reaching voters.”
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“Whoever does not prevail is going to support the other.”
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“As Democrats, we want to make sure that everybody can see a doctor, receive life saving medications, be healthy and well enough to work…”
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“Can you Abide these Gestapo ICE raids in Minneapolis and across the country right now.”
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“I'm going to work with them, you know, shoulder to shoulder, step by step, over these next muscle menos. 10 months until we win the…”
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