Beto O’Rourke launches Texas campaign with rallies in Houston, El Paso, Austin

Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, right, speaks during a campaign stop a restaurant Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, right, speaks during a campaign stop a restaurant Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) Photo: John Locher, STF / Associated Press Photo: John Locher, STF / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Beto O’Rourke launches Texas campaign with rallies in Houston, El Paso, Austin 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

After two weeks of touring the early presidential battleground states, Democrat Beto O’Rourke is heading home to Texas for a trio of campaign kickoff rallies.

O’Rourke, after campaigning in South Carolina and Nevada over the weekend, is turning his attention first to a rally in his hometown of El Paso on Saturday morning. Later that day, he’ll have rallies in Houston (5 p.m.) and Austin (9 p.m.).

“Texas! Excited to see you on Saturday,” O’Rourke said in a statement on social media promoting the events. They are the first presidential campaign stops in Texas for O’Rourke, who announced he will seek the Democratic nomination in a March 14 video release.

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O’Rourke, who served for three terms in Congress, captured national attention in his 2018 U.S. Senate campaign with an off-the-cuff style that avoided traditional campaign consultants. But O’Rourke this week showed he’s adapting to the demands of a nationwide campaign. He announced he has hired Jen O’Malley Dillon — a veteran of President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election — to be his campaign manager. Before serving as Obama’s deputy campaign manager, O’Malley Dillon was the executive director of the Democratic National Committee for about a year.

“Her leadership, experience and creativity will be a great addition to a campaign that is already doing so much to bring people together to overcome the greatest set of challenges this country has ever faced,” O’Rourke said.

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After nearly two weeks on the campaign trail, limited early polling has shown O’Rourke hovering in the top half of the crowded field of Democrats vying for the 2020 party nomination.

More Information Beto O’Rourke rallies On Saturday, Democrat Beto O’Rourke will travel to three Texas cities for an official campaign launch. El Paso: 10 a.m. at El Paso St. and Overland St. Houston: 5 p.m. at 3100 Cleburne Street. RSVP here Austin: 9 p.m., W 10th St. and Congress Ave. RSVP here

The Morning Consult, a research data company that monitors politics, said O’Rourke is securely among the top 6 candidates in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, according to their interview with 13,725 people in those states in the week after O’Rourke announced his candidacy.