Abbott takes shot at ‘Beto’ nickname
Gov. Greg Abbott is making sure to remind voters, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley, that Democrat Beto O'rourke's given name is Robert Francis O'rourke, a tactic U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz used in 2018 in his narrow victory over O'rourke.
Speaking to a crowd in Edinburg this week, on Tuesdayabbott stopped after he mentioned “Beto O'rourke” and corrected himself.
“I'm sorry, I said it wrong. He's not Beto. It's Robert Francis O'rourke,” Abbott said, repeating the full name again later for emphasis.
Republicans who spell it out are trying to make sure voters don't mistake O'rourke for a Hispanic because of the nickname that is particularly popular in Texas border regions. Abbott told the crowd in Edinburg that he wants to increase his support among Hispanic voters, saying he has won about 45 percent of the Hispanic vote in the past, but that he aims to get over 50 percent in 2022.
This isn't a new jab for O'rourke, who explained the origins of his nickname during his 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate. It started after Cruz released a video in which he said that “liberal Robert wanted to fit in, so he changed his name to Beto.”
O'rourke has laughed off such criticism, saying he's been Beto as long as he can remember. During one interview with talk show host Stephen Colbert in 2018, O'rourke explained how in El Paso, his hometown, a lot of boys with the name Robert or Gilberto or Alberto end up being called Beto for short.
He showed a picture of himself as a 4-year-old in preschool with a sweater that his mother had his name put on: “BETO.”
“Just in case I forgot, my mom had it stitched on my sweater,” he said.