
A Las Vegas campaign event has many wondering if Democratic presidential candidate Robert “Beto” O’Rourke may have lost momentum.
The former Texas congressman, who raised over $6 million in the first 24 hours of his presidential campaign, was barely able to fill a room at a Las Vegas event on Friday.
Who is excited to see @BetoORourke in #LasVegas tomorrow at #UNLV? We can’t wait to continue the conversation with him. Retweet this Vegas! pic.twitter.com/8EyFdP0hei
— Vegas for Beto (@VegasForBeto) April 26, 2019
Bloomberg reporter Emma Kinery noted only about 35 people in attendance at O’Rourke’s campaign event at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Around 35 people here to see Beto O’Rourke at UNLV. The rally was supposed to be held in the courtyard outside, but students told me no one is on campus on Fridays bc it’s mainly a commuter school. pic.twitter.com/zFygogVAe6
— Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) April 26, 2019
She also pointed out that the candidate was speaking without a microphone.
Beto’s here and is speaking without a mic
— Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) April 26, 2019
The event was publicized ahead of time and the campaign must have expected more of a turnout.
Join us Friday at @UNLV for a townhall with Beto O’Rourke
He’s speaking directly to the people and going everywhere. Here’s your opportunity to speak to him directly. Unscripted answers. No filtered questions. @betoorourkehttps://t.co/4sFafAdpH0 pic.twitter.com/cm2TqR0Bro— Vegas for Beto (@VegasForBeto) April 24, 2019
Friday’s event was originally scheduled to be held at a different location.
This is where the rally was originally supposed to be held pic.twitter.com/ANLxtkY6ac
— Emma Kinery (@EmmaKinery) April 26, 2019
Two differences between original @BetoORourke rally location at UNLV and the revised one more than 30 minutes out – it’s not sweltering inside, and the room should be a tad easier to fill pic.twitter.com/QX1cXmAAzO
— David Siders (@davidsiders) April 26, 2019
And while the school is apparently normally a “ghost town” on Friday, the small turnout for the highly popular Democrat was rather “telling.”
It was great hearing from @BetoORourke today at #UNLV #Beto2020 pic.twitter.com/cuonB4FYcV
— Vegas for Beto (@VegasForBeto) April 26, 2019
A professor at @unlv told me this campus is a ghost town on Fridays, but this is a very small crowd for @BetoORourke in Vegas. pic.twitter.com/RAoG97PqC5
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) April 26, 2019
when students would rather attend class than see a Beta 0’rourke it’s kinda telling, ya think
— mathewsjw (@mathewsjw) April 27, 2019
The former congressman, who lost his bid to unseat Texas Republican Ted Cruz in the midterm elections, has seen a decline in his popularity in recent weeks as the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls has swelled. The shift has come despite O’Rourke’s initial explosive campaign kickoff, surpassing all of his rivals in fundraising until former Vice President Joe Biden raised $6.3 million in the first 24 hours after announcing his candidacy on Thursday.
Beto spoke about Education, climate change and healthcare today to a intimate group at UNLV today. @BetoORourke #Beto2020 #VegasForBeto #NevadaForBeto pic.twitter.com/azPxNYns1C
— Vegas for Beto (@VegasForBeto) April 26, 2019
The last few weeks have also seen the mentions of O’Rourke’s name wane in the media where, in the week of March 31-April 6, the Democrat was referred to a total of 300 times on on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, according to FiveThirtyEight. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders led the week with the most mentions on cable news networks, about twice as often as any other Democratic presidential candidate.
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg seemed to steal some of O’Rourke’s thunder as the 37-year-old Democratic presidential candidate suddenly became what Fox News host Laura Ingraham called “the new progressive ‘It’ boy.”
Laura Ingraham calls Buttigieg the ‘new progressive ‘it’ boy’ https://t.co/6wyOlXAlAE pic.twitter.com/2okZdkN0ie
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) April 3, 2019
Twitter users questioned the future of O’Rourke’s campaign after the embarrassing turnout in Las Vegas on Friday.
He’s definitely lost momentum
— Rudy P (@rudypjokes) April 26, 2019
I’ve seen book clubs bigger than that.
— ? Daniel (@illdiscourse) April 26, 2019
Millions raised but no budget for an advance operation?
— Philip Smith (@capitolphil) April 26, 2019
Oh man….
He’s toast https://t.co/ACezgLdTWj
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) April 26, 2019
So basically nobody interrupted their schedule or went out of their way for the rare honor of seeing Beto. Just a few people looking for a cool seat in the ghost town. LOL.
— K Vogel (@JackrabbitInfo) April 26, 2019
35 people…..I’ve seen street corner vendors in NYC attract more people than that.
— Lee Christian (@lee_mercyme1) April 27, 2019
The crowd was about 35 people.
I’m guessing it wasn’t standing room only.
I can fit 35 people in my kitchen.— ❌Edward Jackson❌ (@kc135topboom) April 27, 2019
Gotta wonder why the advance team suggested the location?! Poor staff work.
— Adam (@AdamBeckett09) April 26, 2019
UNLV Alum here. No one is on campus for Beto’s talk. Plenty of students take M/W/F classes. They are just not that into him.
— MamaBear #CodeDontKill #AbortionIsMURDER (@BearingTruth) April 26, 2019
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Troops DEPLOYED on U.S. soil – Democrat governor goes off the rails! - September 4, 2023
- $800 Million GONE – Government deal goes completely wrong! - August 30, 2023
- Doocy presses White House spox on Biden health czar’s proposed two beer limit - August 29, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.