Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a "Get Out The Vote" rally on October 18, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
OMAHA — Former Texas Democratic U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke is coming to Nebraska Tuesday to highlight the House redistricting push by Texas Republicans and hear from Nebraskans about America’s future.
He’s having a town hall at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Scott Conference Center. The former Democratic presidential candidate has been traveling the country and hosting townhalls with his voter organizing group, Powered by People. O’Rourke is trying to make the case that helping Texas Democrats to stop the Trump administration’s “power grab” is critical for Democrats nationally.
The GOP-majority Texas Legislature is proposing a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House next year, which could spur a national, state-by-state redistricting fight ahead of next year’s midterm congressional elections.
O’Rourke also plans to emphasize that Nebraska will likely be back in the national spotlight in 2026, because of an open-seat race after the pending retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon in the Omaha area.
“What happens in Texas will affect everybody in the country,” O’Rourke said “What happens in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District is going to affect everybody in the country.”
Some national pundits and political experts have argued that the 2nd District race could be one of a handful that decides which party controls the House. The district has already drawn national attention for its single stray presidential Electoral College vote that has swung from Republicans to Democrats in recent years, most recently to former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
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O’Rourke joins a trend of prominent Democrats and progressives making their way to Nebraska.
Vermont Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his “Fighting Oligarchy” nationwide tour in Omaha. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz hosted a Democratic town hall earlier this year. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is coming to Nebraska in November to speak at the Nebraska Democratic Party’s top annual fundraiser.
O’Rourke has been advocating for Democratic governors to “fight fire with fire” in redistricting as Texas Republicans try a rare change in the middle of the decade.
Most states redistrict after a new Census. The Texas effort is currently paused because Texas House Democrats fled Texas in an effort to block or delay adoption of the GOP majority’s proposed congressional maps.
“Democrats previously have been over-concerned with coloring within the lines,” O’Rourke told the Examiner. “[Democrats] are more focused on being right than being in power. Meanwhile, Republicans have only cared about being in power.”
Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has entertained the idea of retaliating with her own effort to redraw maps, as has Democrat-led California.
O’Rourke says national Democrats need a stronger response to President Donald Trump’s gains among working-class voters, including minority voters. He said Democrats have to be “just as ruthless” to gain more power, or it could be hard for Democrats to “stop the consolidation of authoritarian power in America.”
Democrats in Texas, like in Nebraska, have struggled lately to win a statewide race. It’s been roughly 30 years in Texas, and since U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in 2006, O’Rourke said he sees it as “a privilege to be fighting in these states.”
He said the path to power for Democrats is to invest in states that aren’t traditionally seen as swing states and “fighting for every single person.”
O’Rourke said states like Texas and Nebraska, which often get “written off,” could play a major role in helping “provide a check on Trump’s lawlessness.”
“The coalition has to be as broad as possible, so we’ve got to welcome Nebraska Republicans and Nebraska Independents and Nebraskans who voted for Donald Trump last time,” O’Rourke said.
The Texas Democrat unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020 and for governor of the Lone Star State in 2022. He said he is still entertaining the idea of running for U.S. Senate in Texas and potentially a 2028 presidential bid, but said he has “plenty of time to think,” as the filing deadline is in December.
O’Rourke said he has heard from people at his town halls that they want Democrats to go on the offensive.
“We gotta come together,” O’Rourke said. “Both states have a chance to tip the balance of power in America through the House of Representatives.”
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