Beto O’Rourke Is Generation X’s Last Hope

If he doesn’t win, we’re never going to win. (He’s not going to win.)

Monday morning, Beto O’Rourke, a former Congressperson from Texas and, very briefly, a candidate for President of the United States, announced that he will run for the governorship of Texas in the 2022 election. He will be facing Greg Abbott, the Texas governor whose stewardship of the state during the time of Covid-19 has been, uh, shaky, but he’s still a Republican in the state of Texas: Abbott is obviously the favorite. (Abbott’s campaign is at least a little concerned: They are already attacking O’Rourke.)

Beto, as I and so many others call him even though we’ve never met him and really don’t know much about him at all, is perhaps most famous for his inspiring but ultimately futile attempt to defeat Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race. (Even if you don’t like Beto, it’s tough to argue we wouldn’t be better off without Ted Cruz.) Beto’s insertion into the race makes it less likely that we’ll see Matthew McConaughey enter, which, well, I only wish I was kidding on that one.

Beto isn’t likely to win, though he probably has a better chance than anyone else. But it’s just as well. Because nobody better embodies the virtues and the flaws of Generation X more than Beto O’Rourke. So of course he’s going to lose.