Former U.S. Representative and candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination Beto O’Rourke campaigned for Kamala Harris in an event organized by Wildcats for Harris on the University of Arizona Mall today.
At the event, O’Rourke emphasized how the youth vote will be the deciding factor on the election outcome in Arizona — which he says will have reverberating effects on the rest of the country, citing issues in his home state of Texas like the lack of access to abortion healthcare and the lack of gun control in Texas leading to the Uvalde shooting.
“Every major turning point of this country’s history — the future — has been led by young people,” O’Rourke said.
He continued by telling a story about the Civil Rights Movement and the role young people played in it. “In fact, a 24-year-old John Lewis, much closer to your age than he is to mine, leads this march in Selma, Alabama, across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in March of 1965 and for marching for the right to vote, he was beaten nearly to death,” he said.
O’Rourke also emphasized that Arizona is a swing state and has the potential to shape the outcome of the election. “It comes down to you in Arizona. This is literally going to be the battleground that decides the fate, the future, the fortune of the United States of America. So no pressure for Arizona, but we cannot be found wanting at this moment of truth,” O’Rourke said.
A crowd of roughly 50 young people, mostly UA students, attended the event. Some students expressed excitement about seeing a former candidate for the Democratic nominee, but also anxiety about the upcoming election.
Sophia Stunkard, a UA student in attendance, said: “It’s my first presidential election. And being from Oklahoma, living in Arizona for college is very neat, because it’s a swing state. So many politicians have been flowing in and out of Tucson, which I feel like is honestly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
UA student Lynsey Varner, however, expressed anxieties about what a Trump win might mean for the country. “I think if we don’t show up for this one, it’s a genuine fear that it might be the last election that we have,” Varner said.
Haley Rundle, a UA student, highlighted the increased youth support she has seen for Democrats since Harris stepped into the race. “It just goes to show when your party listens to you, and you get a young candidate, people are willing to show up like they show up for Donald Trump,” Rundle said. “I’ve never seen this many people this young care about politics.”
Varner added that having a younger candidate has made the youth more excited about the election and has created the excitement usually seen in Trump crowds.
O’Rourke echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing that the youth vote could prevent a Trump win if enough young people keep showing up to events.
“Young people have been written off, they’ve been taken for granted. They’re not on anybody’s radar, so if they show up, in the big numbers that I know they’re capable of, we are going to win,” O’Rourke said.
When the Daily Wildcat asked O’Rourke about young voters feeling anxious about the upcoming election, O’Rourke shared that he feels the same way and that when he scrolls through news sites and Twitter, now X, he also starts to feel nervous. He encouraged voters feeling anxious about the election to take action to help assuage these anxieties.
“When I am out with people, knocking on doors, phone banking, registering voters up through the voter registration deadline now, turning those voters out, I am so fulfilled. I am so happy. I am so in the moment because I know I’m making a difference,” O’Rourke said.
In response to a question from the Daily Wildcat about rising housing costs and the economy, O’Rourke praised the Harris economic plan. “Her larger economic plan [will make] sure there’s more opportunity, more affordability, and that we bring prices down,” O’Rourke said. “She’s going to make sure those who are price gouging, whether it’s gasoline or groceries, really pay a consequence so that we can all afford to live and get by and thrive in this country.”
O’Rourke also responded to questions from the press about gun control interfering with Second Amendment rights. He expressed support for red flag laws, universal background checks and raising the age to legally purchase AR-15 and AK-47 rifles from 18 to 21.
O’Rourke concluded his remarks by reinforcing the importance of voting and the responsibility to encourage others to vote. “We know that when we vote, we are more likely to win. We know that when we share the fact that we’re voting, we bring in more people in our lives into this election. And if we do that, if we do that, we are going to come through for this country,” O’Rourke said.
