Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke, one of the Democrat candidates for President made several stops across Virginia praising Northam’s liberal accomplishments.
But the left-wing Democrat also praised deals passed by moderate Republicans in the Commonwealth.
And the state GOP’s response left Beto supporters outraged.
Beto Applauds Medicaid Expansion at Virginia Campaign Stops
Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke made the first Democratic campaign stop in Richmond for the 2020 campaign cycle.
In his stump speeches, O’Rourke praised the state’s expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare with the help of left-leaning Republicans.
Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion in Virginia left the conservative wing of the Republican party outraged at the GOP delegates and Senator’s who backed the Northam-endorsed plan.
That outrage has resulted in several Republican nomination fights against Chris Peace, Bob Thomas, and Emmett Hanger.
Related: These Republicans Just Made the One Move That Has the Tea Party Outraged
O’Rourke later pledged support to regulating the private sale of firearms, an end to the war on drugs, return home of troops serving overseas in conflicts, and a focus on addressing the Democratic agenda of climate change.
He also framed a Trump administration border policy as an ‘evil’ that he would rectify.
During his speeches, he also defended Ilhan Omar, a Democratic freshman member of Congress who has been accused of anti-Semitism for remarks against Israel, as well as describing the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people as “some people did something”.
“He is trying to incite hatred, Islamophobia, and I would argue violence against her and other Muslims in this country. This is a test of all tests for us. It’s not just that he’s partisan, it’s not just that he is divisive. He’s hateful. He’s racist. He’s encouraging the worst tendencies…” O’Rourke said of Trump in Williamsburg.
The Republican Party of Virginia said in response to O’ Rourke’s statements that he is a “liberal loser” who didn’t work well in Congress and would open up border barriers to more illegal immigration.
The GOP also showed a photo of O’Rourke from a 1998 drunk driving arrest.
“Virginia is sick and tired of hypocritical Democrats running roughshod through our commonwealth,” said state GOP Chairman Jack Wilson in a public statement. “O’Rourke and his comically inept campaign should probably spend more time in Iowa if he wants to even think about competing in Virginia in 2020”.
University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said the O’Rourke campaign stops were a move that set him apart.
“Every, four years, candidates make the mistake of visiting IA and NH so often the voters there aren’t even impressed. O’ Rourke was smart to tour swing state Virginia. We’re early in the primary calendar anyway (March 3) and being here is remembered by many activists”, he tweeted in a message to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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