CNN’s Darren Sands reports that Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke told Congress that he will not run for reelection because of clashes with some on the Democratic side over spending limits and the direction of the party.
O’Rourke, 46, was expected to run for Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz and to build a national profile and presumably serve as a poster boy for Democrats’ bid to retake control of the Senate.
O’Rourke, a former mayor of El Paso, is considered a potential 2020 presidential candidate, CNN reported.
“It comes down to whether I want to put my energy and my time into fighting to help build the party,” O’Rourke said in an interview with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Thursday.
“All I’m going to say about that is I’m not going to choose,” he said, according to the Hill. “I’m not going to deny or elaborate on it. But I’ve decided that if we’re going to grow the party — if we’re going to grow the responsibility of leadership — then we’re going to grow it from the grassroots up, and we need to start with representation at every level of government.”
By Shaun Boyd