Thread by @reidepstein

WSJ Page One today: Before Beto O'Rourke was a progressive rock star, his 2012 House campaign was funded by El Paso Republicans. Then, he opposed the ACA, wanted to raise Social Security age & means-test entitlements. -->

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

Of the 40 TX donors who gave <$2,500 to O'Rourke's 2012 campaign and other federal candidates, 26 contributed to other Republicans but just one Democrat—him. Seven gave to other Ds but not Rs. Another seven gave to other candidates from both parties.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

One of O'Rourke's 2012 GOP donors owns an El Paso civil engineering firm that now has a contract to help build the fence along the US-Mexico border near El Paso.

She's a Trump supporter in the 2020 election.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

In a candidate questionnaire published by @ElPasoInc two days before his May 2012 House primary, O'Rourke said he opposed the Affordable Care Act, called for means-testing entitlements and said the Social Security eligibility age should be increased.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

One El Paso GOP O'Rourke donor, a local pizza magnate gave $101,850 to Republicans and $0 to other Democrats in 2012, thought O'Rourke was conservative enough to pitch him on challenging Cruz in the GOP primary in 2018 instead of running as a Democrat.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

Among O'Rourke's El Paso GOP patrons is Woody Hunt, who has given $7.5 million to Republicans and $284k to Democrats since 2012. Months after arriving in Washington, O'Rourke read a commendation for Hunt into the Congressional Record.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

Former Rep. Silvestre Reyes, whom O'Rourke beat in the 2012 House primary, said then, "I don't believe he's a Democrat." Now he says: "I've been waiting on Joe Biden, myself."

wsj.com/articles/beto-…

“I ran into him and he said, ‘I’ll need all your Republican friends to support me,’” said Eileen Karlsruher, an El Paso Republican, who voted for Mr. O’Rourke in the 2012 primary. “Anybody who knows anything about El Paso knows that’s the only way he won.”
wsj.com/articles/beto-…

In a candidate questionnaire published two days before the May 2012 primary, Mr. O’Rourke called for raising the Social Security eligibility age and means-testing federal entitlements. He criticized Mr. Reyes for voting “party line” with other Democrats.

wsj.com/articles/beto-…