O’Rourke blogs from road trip: ‘Have been stuck lately. In and out of a funk’

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) is blogging from his road trip across the country, writing in his latest post that he has “been stuck lately … in and out of a funk.” 

O’Rourke, who is mulling a 2020 Democratic presidential bid, is traveling the country after losing to Sen. Ted Cruz (R) last year in the closest Senate race the state has seen in decades.

“Have been stuck lately,” O’Rourke wrote in a Medium blog post Wednesday, noting that he left Congress early this month. “In and out of a funk. My last day of work was January 2nd.”{mosads}

“It’s been more than twenty years since I was last not working,” O’Rourke wrote. “Maybe if I get moving, on the road, meet people, learn about what’s going on where they live, have some adventure, go where I don’t know and I’m not known, it’ll clear my head, reset, I’ll think new thoughts, break out of the loops I’ve been stuck in.” 

O’Rourke is currently on a solo road trip outside his home state of Texas as he weighs whether to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

The former congressman currently does not have plans to visit any early primary or caucus states, like Iowa, sources have told The Wall Street Journal.

O’Rourke in his blog post Wednesday wrote about his trips to Liberal, Kan.; Tucumcari, N.M.; Dalhart, Texas; and Goodwell, Okla.

He wrote that he has visited some community colleges and a Veteran’s Affairs clinic. For the bulk of the post, O’Rourke wrote about the people he has met so far during his travels.

Discussing a woman he met at an Oklahoma community college, he wrote, “We talked about healthcare. About war and veterans. We talked about the border and immigration and Dreamers. We talked about corporate influence in politics, PACs and election finance. We talked about how hard it is to afford college.”

“Listened to a young woman who is studying to be a teacher, wants to teach kindergarten,” O’Rourke added. “Asked me how we improve the chances for children of color who are suspended and expelled at up to five times the rate of white children as early as kindergarten. Someone else asked about the criminal justice system and the disproportionate number of black men and women behind bars.”

Many Democratic strategists, some of whom served as aides to former President Obama, have been encouraging O’Rourke to jump into the 2020 race, which is expected to be crowded.

The Texas Democrat’s Senate bid mobilized and excited voters across the country last year as millions tuned in to his social media-savvy campaign built on a progressive platform. 

O’Rourke ultimately raised more than $70 million, boasting an eye-popping $38 million haul in the third quarter.  

Several Democrats have already announced plans to run in 2020, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and former Obama Housing Secretary Julián Castro.