MISSION — The Senate candidate climbed onto the back of a John Deere Gator utility vehicle, crossed his legs and soon saw the start of federal construction he had no idea existed.
Federal officials, in a move unknown to O’Rourke and most other elected officials, began clearing out trees and shrubs by the border levee in July at the NationalButterflyCenter, even without informing the center’s director, Marianna Treviño Wright. Those were the embryonic stages toward building President Trump’s border wall.
“That’s crazy,” said U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, on Saturday.
A big part of O’Rourke’s bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is listening to people in every corner of Texas, whether they agree with him, such as many in the Rio Grande Valley, or not, such as the many in places like King County in west Texas. And despite being from the border, the desert border in El Paso is much different than terrain in the Valley. O’Rourke had toured Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge on a prior visit, but this was new.
O’Rourke has visited the Rio GrandeValley multiple times during the past year in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. This weekend was his most ambitious yet, with three town hall meetings Saturday, beginning in San Benito at El Sabor de Mi Tierra. He visit is expected to conclude with a Sunday morning jog with whoever shows up at Firemen’s Park in McAllen.
In San Benito, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. introduced O’Rourke in front of a packed late breakfast crowd, trying to connect with his fellow “fronterizos.”
“You are part of what already makes America so great, right now,” O’Rourke said, a subtle jab at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
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