Rep. O’Rourke’s clout growing within Democratic Party
President Obama is in Vietnam and will travel to Japan later this week. He will visit Hiroshima Friday, becoming the first serving U.S. president to travel to the city.
Obama invited El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke and a handful of other lawmakers to make the trip to Southeast Asia. O’Rourke is assigned to the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs committees.
So why did the president invite O’Rourke along for the trip? It’s a question ABC-7 posed to members of the El Paso County Democratic Party.
Rebecca Bustamante is the executive committeewoman of the state’s Democratic Party.
“He is able to do things for our communities, especially for veterans. People are starting to take him seriously, especially because he is going out there, going out of his way to meet with people personally,” Bustamante said.
Donald Williams, the State Democratic Executive Committeeman, believes Rep. O’Rourke is only getting started in his political career.
“I could see him maybe get a cabinet position, another level besides the Congress and so forth. It’s just a matter of time,” Williams said.
Members of the local Democratic Party are also pleased with O’Rourke’s fundraising ability.
According to OpenSecrets.org — the website of the Center for Responsive Politics — the congressman has raised $317,760 for the 2015-2016 election cycle, the majority of it in large individual contributions.
