Even before a tide of Republican votes doomed his spectacular but ultimately unsuccessful senatorial candidacy, Beto ORourke sought to rule out what many of his fervent supporters saw as the logical next step, win or lose.
I will not be a candidate for president in 2020, the El Paso congressman told MSNBC. Thats I think as definitive as those sentences get.
But no is rarely a flat, Shermanesque no in presidential politics. The words of a tired candidate at the end of a long race wont stamp out speculation that, in a massive field with no logical front-runner, ORourke has the charisma the Democrats will need to defeat President Donald Trump.