Democratic Rep. Robert O’Rourke turned down Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s invitation to reinstate their previously scheduled debate on Sunday, and instead attempted to film a campaign ad on Facebook Live.
Cruz and O’Rourke were scheduled to debate at the University of Houston on Sunday, but Cruz had to postpone the event on Friday due to the impending vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. However, after the Senate ordered an FBI investigation and the vote would no longer take place, Cruz’s team immediately circled back to O’Rourke asking for the debate to be back on.
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Posted by Beto O'Rourke on Sunday, September 30, 2018
O’Rourke’s declined the invitation saying that he had already re-booked during that time, which was only hours after Cruz’s initial request to postpone. (RELATED: Cruz Forces Democratic Opponent To Repeatedly Claim He Supports The Second Amendment — His Views On Gun Control Suggest Otherwise)
In a half hour Facebook Live stream, O’Rourke praised Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, advised constituents to vote in the upcoming midterm elections and then proceeded with four attempts to film a 30-second campaign ad.
“Hmm… [O’Rourke] said he couldn’t do #TXSenateDebate tonight because he had more important plans,” tweeted Emily Miller, a spokeswoman for Cruz. “He’s currently doing Facebook live from an empty kitchen.”
Hmm… @BetoORourke said he couldn’t do #TXSenateDebate tonight because had more important plans. He’s currently doing Facebook live from an empty kitchen.
— Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) September 30, 2018
Miller also confirmed that Cruz was currently in Houston and ready to debate if O’Rourke changed his mind last minute.
Sunday’s debate was supposed to be the second of three scheduled debates between the Texas senate hopefuls. O’Rourke notably avoided committing to any debates against Cruz for weeks during the summer, and even bowed out of the first tentatively scheduled debate saying he was unhappy that he didn’t get a big enough say in the terms.
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