--- title: Beto O'Rourke: Senate Run 'Not Good Enough' for U.S. description: Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke rejected calls that he run for a U.S. Senate seat instead of president. canonical: https://time.com/5653056/beto-orourke-senate-run/ author: Lissandra Villa article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-08-15T15:26:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T22:03:29.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Beto O'Rourke Says Running for Senate Would 'Not Be Good Enough for This Country' og:description: "We must take the fight directly to the source of this problem" og:url: https://time.com/5653056/beto-orourke-senate-run/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10682304eefc2fdb/698a016e4ee262312b3161b6/beto.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Democratic Presidential Candidate Beto O'Rourke Gives Campaign Address In His Hometown Town Of El Paso, Texas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Beto O'Rourke Says Running for Senate Would 'Not Be Good Enough for This Country' twitter:description: "We must take the fight directly to the source of this problem" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10682304eefc2fdb/698a016e4ee262312b3161b6/beto.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:13 video:published: 2019-08-15 section: politics topics: El Paso tragedy, mass shooting victims, community grief, Texas Senate run, 2020 political campaign, Donald Trump, national peril, political accountability genre: speech, campaign announcement tones: somber, resolute, impassioned emotions: grief (high), determination (high), anger (medium), love (medium) sentiment: negative audience: politically engaged voters, Texas residents, El Paso community, national political audiences people: Beto O'Rourke, Donald Trump organizations: Del Sol Medical Center, University Medical Center content_suitability: violence [00:00-00:59]; death [00:00-00:25]; tragedy [00:00-01:13]; politics [00:25-01:13] transcript_source: automatic transcription transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Beto O'Rourke Says Running for Senate Would 'Not Be Good Enough for This Country' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b50ad6f1-adfa-4058-9d0a-f05d824834ee&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Beto O'Rourke Says Running for Senate Would 'Not Be Good Enough for This Country' [Watch (HLS stream): Beto O'Rourke Says Running for Senate Would 'Not Be Good Enough for This Country'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hfqySPAy.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2019-08-15. Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke returned to the campaign trail on Thursday morning_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke addresses the August 3rd tragedy in El Paso, in which 22 people were killed and dozens injured, with victims still hospitalized. He says he wants to stay in El Paso with his family and community, and that some have suggested he run for Senate in Texas. He rejects that option as not good enough for the community or the country, and names Donald Trump as the source of the problem he says must be confronted. ## Key points - The August 3rd tragedy in El Paso took 22 lives and injured dozens more. (00:00) - Some injured victims remain at Del Sol and University Medical Center and are not yet out of danger. (00:00) - O'Rourke says part of him wants to stay in El Paso with his family and community. (00:25) - O'Rourke says he loves El Paso. (00:25) - Some people have suggested O'Rourke stay in Texas and run for Senate. (00:25) - O'Rourke says running for Senate would not be good enough for El Paso or the country. (00:48) - O'Rourke says the fight must be taken directly to the source of the problem. (00:59) - O'Rourke names Donald Trump as the person who caused the pain and the country's moment of peril. (00:59) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:25] Remembering the August 3rd El Paso tragedy. O'Rourke describes the shooting's death toll, the injured still hospitalized, and the grief of the community. - [00:25 to 00:48] Personal pull toward staying in El Paso. O'Rourke says he wants to stay with his family and community, and mentions suggestions that he run for Senate. - [00:48 to 01:13] Rejecting a Senate run for the national fight. O'Rourke says a Senate run would not be enough and calls for confronting Donald Trump directly. ## Key quotes - [00:48] Beto O'Rourke: "But that would not be good enough for this community. That would not be good enough for El Paso. That would not be good enough for this country." - [00:59] Beto O'Rourke: "We must take the fight directly to the source of this problem." - [00:59] Beto O'Rourke: "And that is Donald Trump." ## Questions this video answers - What happened in El Paso on August 3rd? [00:00] - Why does O'Rourke want to stay in El Paso? [00:25] - Why does O'Rourke reject running for Senate in Texas? [00:48] - Who does O'Rourke say is responsible for the country's moment of peril? [00:59] - What does O'Rourke say must be done about the problem? [00:59] ## Content suitability - violence [00:00-00:59]: References a mass shooting that killed 22 people and injured dozens. - death [00:00-00:25]: References 22 lives taken and victims still grieving. - tragedy [00:00-01:13]: The entire speech centers on the aftermath of a deadly tragedy. - politics [00:25-01:13]: Political speech discussing a Senate run and criticizing Donald Trump.  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:03 PM UTCPublished: Aug 15, 2019 3:26 PM UTC Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke returned to the campaign trail on Thursday morning  by [Lissandra Villa](https://time.com/author/lissandra-villa/)  ## Lissandra Villa Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:03 PM UTCPublished: Aug 15, 2019 3:26 PM UTC Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke returned to the campaign trail on Thursday morning with a major address from his hometown of El Paso for the first time since the shooting that left at least 22 dead and dozens of victims injured earlier this month. His return to campaigning comes amid calls for him to drop out of the presidential race and run for Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s seat — including from [the Houston _Chronicle’_s editorial board](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Beto-come-home-Texas-needs-you-Editorial-14294396.php) — and as he sits [in the low single digits in most polls](https://twitter.com/natesilver538/status/1162028426959753216?s=21). It also comes in [the midst of reports](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/us/politics/john-hickenlooper-drop-out-senate.html) that former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is expected to put an end to his struggling presidential campaign to run for Senate. In his speech, O’Rourke rejected those calls, however. “There have even been some who have suggested that I stay in Texas and run for Senate,” O’Rourke said. “But that would not be good enough for this community. That would not be good enough for El Paso. That would not be good enough for this country.” “We must take the fight directly to the source of this problem, that person who has caused this pain and placed this country in this moment of peril, and that is Donald Trump.” O’Rourke will spend Friday in Mississippi, where last week the[ largest single-state enforcement operation](https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/ice-agents-raid-miss-work-sites-arrest-680-people-in-largest-single-state-immigration-enforcement-action-in-us-history/2019/08/07/801d5cfe-b94e-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39%5Fstory.html) by Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids occurred. On Saturday, he will be in Arkansas to headline the state Democratic Party’s Clinton Dinner. It was clear that the shooting was an inflection point for O’Rourke, and in his speech it became clearer how. O’Rourke outlined the future of his campaign and suggested he will spend more time bringing attention to issues and telling other people’s stories and confronting President Donald Trump. “To those places where Donald Trump has been terrorizing and terrifying and demeaning our fellow Americans, that’s where you will find me and this campaign,” O’Rourke said, pointing to the Iowa State Fair as the type of typical early-state event he would spend less time at. (He intentionally skipped the fair to stay in El Paso after the shooting.) “Anyone that this president puts down, we’re going to do our best to lift up.” Since the shooting, O’Rourke has gone out of his way to focus on the victims and their families. He did that again Thursday morning. His speech, according to his campaign, was done without prepared remarks. At one point O’Rourke talked about Antonio Basco, the man who [gained national attention](https://twitter.com/DavidBegnaud/status/1161377578030161923?s=20) this week when he invited the public to his wife’s funeral. Margie Reckard died in the shooting, and she was Basco’s only family. So many people are now expected at her funeral that it has [reportedly been moved to a larger venue](https://twitter.com/RepEscobar/status/1161839914813677568?s=20). O’Rourke [met Basco last week](https://time.com/5649332/beto-orourke-el-paso-shooting/) at the memorial near the Walmart where the shooting took place. O’Rourke was born and grew up in El Paso, where he later served on the city council and represented the area in Congress. He did not seek reelection for his seat in the 2018 midterms, when he chose instead to run against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. 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