Mar 30, 2019 - Politics & Policy

Beto O'Rourke aims to counter Trump's "fear and division" in first stump speech

Gigi Sukin

Beto O'Rourke. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Standing just a short distance from the U.S.-Mexico border, in the first official stump speech of his presidential campaign in downtown El Paso on Saturday, former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke declared his opposition to the nation's "extraordinary, unprecedented concentration of wealth and power and privilege."

Details: In the first of 3 campaign kickoff rallies, O'Rourke said: “For too long in this country, the powerful have maintained their privilege at the expense of the powerless," taking cues from other 2020 Democrats, namely Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Though O’Rourke announced his candidacy earlier in March, grandstanding atop tables in 8 different states, he has not been particularly detailed to date about his policy platform. On Saturday, he outlined campaign promises from implementing a new voter rights act to ending gerrymandering and establishing same-day voter registration across the country.

Go deeper: Beto O'Rourke: Everything you need to know about the 2020 candidate

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Beto O'Rourke aims to counter Trump's "fear and division" in first stump speech

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