Two aides to former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) have reportedly departed his 2020 presidential campaign, an O’Rourke spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Saturday.
Becky Bond, a top adviser to O’Rourke, and her deputy, Zack Malitz, have both left the campaign. The two worked on O’Rourke’s competitive 2018 Texas Senate bid against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
{mosads}Chris Evans, a spokesman for O’Rourke, said Bond and Malitz were staffers on a “temporary” basis and didn’t respond to questions about the reasons they left the campaign, BuzzFeed News reported.
Bond told BuzzFeed News in a statement that it was “time for us to move on to other challenges.”
“Launching a presidential campaign without a big staff or even a campaign manager was no easy feat and it took everyone pitching in. We’re proud to have been part of the team of deeply dedicated staff and volunteers who nearly pulled off a historic upset in the 2018 Texas Senate race and broke records launching Beto’s campaign for the presidency,” Bond added.
Evans said in a statement to BuzzFeed News that Bond and Malitz will volunteer for the campaign.
“Becky and Zack remain close friends of the campaign, and true to form, they have already joined our army of grassroots volunteers who are signing up for shifts and committing to electing Beto president,” Evans said.
The Hill has reached out to O’Rourke’s campaign for comment.
O’Rourke’s campaign announced a nearly $10 million fundraising haul in the first quarter of 2019, boosting his reputation as one of the top fundraisers in the Democratic field. He is among more than a dozen candidates vying for the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2020.