You are in the O'Rourke 2020 Group. Only members who have selected Beto O'Rourke as their preferred Democratic presidential candidate are permitted to post in this Group.
Beto O'Rourke stumps with his wife amid struggles with women
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Beto O'Rourke stumbled with women from the start, featuring his wife sitting silently in his presidential campaign launch video and joking repeatedly about being a part-time parent.
But with his campaign at risk of stalling, O'Rourke is attempting to improve his standing with female voters. His wife, Amy, will begin a rare string of campaign appearances on Friday in Iowa, speaking at joint events and making herself available to chat and take pictures with would-be supporters.
Her presence will be an important test of whether Beto O'Rourke can reverse his less-than-favorable first impressions with women. It's an unusual position for a candidate whose appeal with women helped make him a national political phenomenon while nearly upsetting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz last fall. And it shows how much work has to be done to get his presidential bid back on track.
"Any perceived entitlement by a young white male candidate did disqualify him with some young women activists," Judy Downs, executive director of the Des Moines-area Polk County Democratic Party, said of O'Rourke. Downs remains undecided in the party's 2020 primary but added, "In a field where we have 24 qualified candidates, that kind of small-level of gaffe can be enough to cut someone off the list."
Read more: https://www.oaoa.com/news/us_news/article_6842b27a-490e-5384-b21c-8c31667ee03f.html
(Odessa American)