This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

In an attempt to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and attack a political rival, the Republican party tweeted a mugshot of the Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke emblazoned with a green leprechaun’s hat and the words “please drink responsibly”.

O’Rourke, 46, is a former US representative from Texas who narrowly lost a US Senate race against the Republican Ted Cruz last year. He announced his White House run this week.

The mugshot is more than 20 years old. In September 1998, O’Rourke was booked for driving while drunk, at what a witness called “a high rate of speed”, on a Texas interstate. He lost control of his car and hit a truck.

According to a witness, O’Rourke attempted to leave the scene. After he completed a court-approved diversion program, charges were dismissed.

He was also arrested by University of Texas El Paso police in 1995, for jumping a fence. Misdemeanor burglary charges were dropped. The arrests have been used to attack O’Rourke before, by opponents in both parties.

The picture tweeted by @GOP on Sunday was captioned: “On this St Paddy’s Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O’Rourke.” It was followed by a more traditional attack, which called O’Rourke “a failed member of Congress [with] a far-left liberal record”.

GOP (@GOP) On this St. Paddy's Day, a special message from noted Irishman Robert Francis O'Rourke. pic.twitter.com/JRjMEXhZRY

“Beto”, a Hispanic diminutive of Robert, is O’Rourke’s nickname, given as he grew up in the border city of El Paso. Republican attacks on the Democrat around his name are also common.

Sunday’s @GOP tweet met with fierce condemnation. Matthew Dowd, chief political analyst for ABC News and formerly chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 Republican presidential campaign, tweeted: “As an Irishman this is deplorable. As an American it is unpatriotic. As a human it is racist.”

Brian Lowry, Washington correspondent of the Kansas City Star, asked: “Irish Americans are actually a pretty big segment of the electorate. There’s 30m of us. GOP’s social media team thought it was a good idea to dunk on Beto by promoting negative Irish stereotypes on our holiday?”

Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) Jack and Zane skateboarded in to join us for breakfast in Madison. pic.twitter.com/5mGiHWENEI

In a campaign appearance in Madison, Wisconsin, on Sunday, O’Rourke said there was “nothing” he had not already revealed about his past that could hurt his candidacy.

After signing a skateboard, the candidate was asked if he had ever taken LSD. He said he had not. He also promised to stop saying “fuck” while campaigning, especially in front of his children.

“Great point,” O’Rourke said. “I don’t intend to use the F-word going forward. Point taken, and very strongly made … We’re going to keep it clean.”

Quick guide Who are the leading Democrats running for 2020? Show Hide Joe Biden, former vice president Biden unsuccessfully ran for the nomination in 1988 and 2008, and his campaign is likely to be dogged by controversy after allegations from several women they were left feeling uncomfortable by their physical interactions with him. If successful, Biden would become the oldest person to be elected president in US history. Mike Bloomberg, former New York mayor Bloomberg has expressed concern that none of the top candidates can defeat Trump, and he aims to make up for an unusually late entry in the Democratic primary with historic spending of hundreds of millions of dollars in television ad time and an unorthodox strategy of skipping the first four states in the primary. Bloomberg has announced that his campaign will be entirely self-funded, but can this billionaire win? Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota senator On Election Night 2018, Klobuchar coasted to a third term as senator in a state Trump almost won. Next morning she was on every short list of potential presidential candidates. Supporters say her success with rural voters makes her a formidable candidate in the Rust Belt, while her calm demeanour provides a clear contrast with Trump. Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator Sanders turned a long-shot, anti-establishment bid for the presidency into a “political revolution” that energized the party’s progressive base. His political career began nearly 40 years ago, but it wasn’t until his 2016 run that Sanders became a national figure as a new generation of Democrats – and 2020 contenders – embraced his populist economic policies. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts senator Her sharp criticism of Wall Street and big corporations has made Warren a favorite among progressive activists, and she will campaign on a message of a rigged economic system and income inequality.

In his concession speech to Ted Cruz last November, O’Rourke spoke of the importance of tolerance and inclusion. In conclusion, he said of his supporters: “I’m so fucking proud of you guys.”

About 400 people listened in a coffee shop as O’Rourke spoke. Wearing a St Patrick’s Day necklace featuring green cabbage, the candidate said he had coffee not beer with his breakfast.

“Although,” he said, “it can be justified as an O’Rourke on St Patrick’s Day to do that.”