Beto O’Rourke Puts Campaign on Pause After El Paso Mass Shooting

(Bloomberg) -- Beto O’Rourke has canceled campaign appearances in Iowa, deciding to remain in his hometown of El Paso, Texas, as it grieves a mass shooting rather than participate in what is considered a key campaign opportunity at the Iowa State Fair.

At least 22 people were killed at an El Paso Walmart Saturday by a shooter who appeared to be motivated by anti-immigrant anger. The incident -- and another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, the next day -- have put the issue of gun control at the top of the agenda for Democratic presidential candidates.

In a statement to the Associated Press, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said it was “unconscionable” that O’Rourke’s decision to take time off from the campaign trail would be turned into speculation about the “horse race.”

“Beto is staying in El Paso to support his hometown that was the target of a terrorist attack, inspired by the words of Donald Trump,” she said. “Now more than ever, this country needs the honest leadership Beto continues to demonstrate — and that is why he running for president.”

El Paso -- a Mexican border town that’s 83% Hispanic -- is a constant background for O’Rourke’s campaign narrative. “El Paso to me represents America and its very best,” he said when launching his campaign there in March. “We see the languages spoken in this community, the traditions, the cultures, as a strength for El Paso.”

Vigils, Memorials

Since the Saturday shooting, O’Rourke has displayed raw emotions as he’s attended vigils, memorials and hospitals. He profanely lashed out at a reporter and challenged the press to “connect the dots” on what he called Trump’s incitement of racism and violence.

O’Rourke left the Democratic debates in Detroit last week for three days of campaigning in Nevada. He canceled a visit to California’s San Quentin prison scheduled for Monday, two days after the shooting. And Wednesday, he said he was canceling Friday’s appearance in Iowa as well.

He was scheduled to appear at the Des Moines Register Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair -- a campaign staple that only three other invited candidates -- Democrats Mike Gravel and Wayne Messam, and Republican President Donald Trump -- have not committed to.

Also canceled: A Des Moines rally and an appearance at a Native American event over the weekend. He also hasn’t confirmed his attendance at a candidate forum on gun safety in Des Moines Saturday organized by two gun control groups.

Michael Bloomberg, owner of Bloomberg News parent company Bloomberg LP, founded and helps fund one of the groups, Everytown for Gun Safety.

Fundraising Slows

O’Rourke did not answer further questions about his future, and didn’t signal that he was suspending his presidential campaign or considering a run for Senate. O’Rourke lost to Senator Ted Cruz by 215,000 votes in 2018, and the state’s senior senator, John Cornyn, is up for re-election in 2020.

The RealClearPolitics polling average puts O’Rourke’s support at about 2.5% nationally, good for sixth place in the crowded Democratic presidential primary field. But in the key early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, he’s been lagging at closer to 1%.

His fundraising has also slowed. After raising $9.4 million in 18 days to open his campaign, he took in $3.7 million in the second quarter for a total of $13 million. He spent $7.8 million, and ended June with $5.2 million in the bank.

--With assistance from Bill Allison.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo

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