Beto O’Rourke wins on Election Day...even if he loses his race, Reuters says

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Beto O’Rourke: Who is he?

Tightening polls in the Texas Senate race show Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has launched a formidable challenge to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Who is the El Paso Democrat who hopes to turn Texas blue?

International news service Reuters informed its 20 million Twitter followers Tuesday afternoon that Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is a winner, regardless of whether or not he pulls off a shock victory over Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

“Win or lose, Beto O’Rourke set to emerge victorious,” Reuters’ tweeted from its verified account, adding a link to the news gathering service’s Election Day coverage and a nearly two-minute, slickly produced video declaring O'Rourke victorious...one way or another.

O'Rourke's “breakout bid…has dominated the 2018 elections like no other race,” says the video's narrator, who is not identified, before the clip cuts to a crowd chanting: “Beto, Beto, Beto!”

The narration continues: “Political veterans say if the skateboarding El Paso congressman even comes close over arch-conservative Cruz, his political future will just be taking off.”

Reuters political reporter Tim Reed, who's assigned to cover O’Rourke, then addresses viewers directly.

“Even if Beto O’Rourke loses his Senate bid, he still emerges a winner, as does the Texas Democratic Party," Reed says. "I’ve traveled to Texas a couple of times in recent weeks and the energy surrounding his campaign has been huge. He’s been drawing crowds in Texas that no Democrat has drawn for many, many years.”

The rest of the clip fawns over O’Rourke’s savvy social media operation and his supposed ability to rack up a massive war chest “while refusing to take outside money,” in the state of Texas where “Registered Republicans still outnumber Democrats by hundreds of thousands.” That claim, however, is in some dispute, and even Politifact has labeled it "half true."

Reed labels O'Rourke a “national phenomenon,” noting his campaign buttons and shirts are popping up nationwide – not just in Texas.

“While he has dismissed talk of a future White House bid, many people in the Democratic Party would love him to run,” Reed says as the profile concludes.

Reuters has tweeted the same video with a variety of messages including: “Democrat Beto O'Rourke has put up a strong fight in Texas that could reverberate well beyond Election Day.” In another post, the news service says O'Rourke has "dominated" the midterm conversation.

O’Rourke has emerged as a darling of the liberal media and CNN declared him a help to Democrats – regardless of whether or not he defeats Cruz – back in August. He’s also been labeled a “rising star,” “rock star” and MSNBC’s Peter Alexander recently pondered if O’Rourke could be the 2020 presidential nominee even if he loses his bid for a Senate seat on Tuesday,