Beto O’rourke, 46

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+e’s got the looks oi a .ennedy and the oratory skills oi Barack Obama and he’s not airaid to publicly jam out to ţbaba O’5iley.ť 'emocrats like to Iall in love with their candidates and many are smitten with Beto.

He became a national sensation this year by running a surprisingly close Senate race against 5epublican Ted &ruz in ruby red Texas. <es he lost but he also redeɿned what a modern campaign could look like. He spent a Iull year on the road visiting all 2 counties in the state. His polite yet emotional deiense oi N)/ players taking a knee during the national anthem went viral as did his pervasive message oi unity among increasingly divided parties in Washington. ,t doesn’t hurt that he squashed all previous Iundraising records without accepting 3$& or corporate money.

O’5ourke has already met with Obama and won endorsements Irom some oi his 200 advisers. $ recent poll Irom progressive group 0oveon had him edging out Joe Biden as the Democrats’ top pick in 2020.

But let’s not get ahead oi ourselves: He did lose the election—to one oi the most unpopular men in politics. Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t like ţlosers Ť and he’d surely use that against O’5ourke. History is also against the Iormer punk guitarist. The last congressman to ascend straight to the White House was James *arɿeld in 0. —NG