O'Rourke To Address Nation From El Paso As He Rejoins Presidential Race
EL PASO (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — It's been nearly two weeks since a gunman from North Texas traveled to El Paso and opened fire inside a crowded Walmart store. At the time, presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke was traveling the country campaigning, but he cut everything short to return to his hometown.
Now O'Rourke is formally rejoining the presidential race with what he calls a "major address to the nation" from near the U.S.-Mexico border, where the mass shooting killed 22 people.
The Democratic former Texas congressman will speak Thursday in El Paso, outlining "the path forward" for his 2020 bid and the country.
O'Rourke was in Nevada on August 3 but suspended his campaign and came back to Texas where he said he tried to help his city cope after the deadly shooting.
In a CNN op-ed posted Tuesday, O'Rourke said the shooting suspect drove more than 600 miles to "hunt and kill Hispanic people" and was inspired by President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric. Trump blames mental illness and video games for the violence.
O'Rourke wrote Americans must decide what the nation stands for "at this defining moment of truth."
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)