Group aiming to draft Beto O’Rourke unveils first 2020 video

Draft Beto, a group of Democratic activists urging former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) to run for president, on Thursday launched its first web video to rev up support for the Texas Democrat ahead of his 2020 decision.

The 90-second spot is set to The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” which is a reference to the viral video of O’Rourke air-drumming to that song while waiting at the drive-thru at a Whataburger after a Texas Senate debates.

Right now our nation is deeply divided and in desperate need of inspiration.

We need someone who can go anywhere, talk to anyone, and inspire everyone.

Beto O’Rourke is that person.

Join our movement to Draft Beto >> https://t.co/mH51uYsgZ0 pic.twitter.com/NmFIfGzmSf

— Draft Beto (@RunBeto2020) January 17, 2019

Draft Beto is aiming to raise enough money off the video to potentially air it on social media and in TV markets in early primary states. The group has been planning an ambitious draft movement, which includes raising $1 million for a possible O’Rourke White House bid and building a donor email list it can eventually hand off to the former congressman — if he runs.

{mosads}The video includes a montage of photos and clips of several advisers of President Trump, including former personal attorney Michael Cohen and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Cohen has been sentenced to prison for making hush-money payments and Manafort is being accused by special counsel Robert Mueller of lying to investigators in breach of his plea agreement.

The video later cuts to a picture of Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Helsinki summit last year. After that meeting with Putin, O’Rourke had said he’d support impeaching Trump.

It also includes several clips of O’Rourke on late night shows and scenes from his stump speeches during his 2018 Senate campaign, where he narrowly lost to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in deep-red Texas.

“We’re going to shine through right now in this moment of division,” O’Rourke says in one clip in the video.

The video ends on a quote from his concession speech last November: “We will see you out there down the road.”

O’Rourke is considering a White House bid, but NBC News recently reported that he won’t make an announcement until February at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the 2020 Democratic field is quickly growing.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) announced exploratory presidential committees and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, who is also a Texas Democrat, has officially entered the contest.

While O’Rourke has inched upward in some early national 2020 polls, he’s still behind a number of potential White House hopefuls in name recognition.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden, who are both considering White House bids, have led a number of early 2020 horse race polls.