In Democrat Robert Francis "Beto" O’Rourke’s mission to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott, he’s trying to reach all corners of Texas for every last vote, spending the remaining months before the election driving his Toyota Tundra “to the least populous, most Republican parts of the state.”
“Maybe it’s a fool’s errand or just a kamikaze mission of hope, but Beto is holding more than 70 public events in 49 days trying to convince people in mostly small, rural and often incredibly red towns around the state that he should be their next governor,” The Washington Post reports. But in order to do this the Democrat candidate races from one event to the next, literally.
For nearly a week, the Washington Post reporter explains how she had a hard time following O'Rourke across the state to cover his events (emphasis mine):
For six days and 10 events, I chased Beto from west to east across the state — a sliver of this mostly rural tour that began in his hometown of El Paso last month and traces the perimeter of the state, including the border with Mexico, before ending near Dallas in September.
And when I say chased, I mean it. The man drives as if he’s a criminal trying to lose a tail, easily going 95 to 100 mph at times.
“If we want to create 30 minutes to eat lunch, we gotta drive fast,” he says, devouring a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone at a Dairy Queen. (A week after I left him, police pulled him over outside of Galveston and warned him to slow down.)
It’s a typical marathon schedule for the 49-year-old father of three, who wakes up at 6 every morning to go for a four-mile run before driving himself and three staffers to every event, as well as knocking on doors in temperatures so high that tar from the road melts onto your shoes.
But does he really have a chance? This time?
It’s a long shot, but maybe. [...] (WaPo)
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O'Rourke, who was previously arrested for drunk driving, would do well to consider the safety of all Texans as he travels to events.
According to the National Safety Council, speeding played a role in 29 percent of all traffic fatalities in 2020, killing 11,258 people, which averages 30 people per day.
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