Activist and former United States Rep. Beto O’Rourke made a stop at Off Square Books on Friday, March 8, to discuss his book “We’ve Got to Try” and galvanize voters to go to the polls.
“We’ve Got to Try” showcases the story of physician and activist Lawrence Aaron Nixon and his fight for African Americans’ right to vote in Texas elections. In the book, O’Rourke analyzes the administration of former President Richard Nixon in order to examine voter suppression and encourage participation in elections.
During the event, O’Rourke talked about the problem of low voter turnout, highlighting the significant number of voters who did not participate in the 2022 Texas gubernatorial election, which O’Rourke lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
“At the end of the day, nine-and-a-half million eligible Texans did not cast a ballot in the most important decisive determinative election in our state’s history,” O’Rourke said. “Now, I don’t think they’re lazy. I don’t think they lacked any love for this great democracy. It’s not as though they don’t care about those issues and want things to be better in this state. It is that they’ve been drawn out of the ability to participate.”
Elizabeth Wildman, a sophomore public policy leadership major, appreciated O’Rourke’s emphasis on attaining the youth vote.
“Beto spoke in his speech about taking a chance on the young vote. Young people have never been strong voters, but Beto thinks this isn’t because young voters don’t care, but because no one is speaking to their interests,” Wildman said. “Our vote as young college students is incredibly important, and I loved that he touched on this in his speech, especially with so many young students attending.”
In addition to discussing “We’ve Got to Try,” O’Rourke spoke about key issues among voters like abortion rights and gun control.
“In Texas, and you know something about this in Mississippi, we have the most obscene abortion ban in America. Not only because it prevented a woman from being able to get a legal abortion in our state, but it deepens a maternal mortality crisis because reproductive clinic after clinic gets shut down,” O’Rourke said. “Those who wanted to carry their pregnancies to term are no longer able to get the care they needed, and they were dying, and that maternal mortality crisis was three times as deadly for Black women in the state of Texas.”
Wildman stressed the importance of politicians like O’Rourke visiting small, Southern towns.
“Having people like Beto come to small towns like Oxford revives the community on past issues that might have fallen to the backburner. It can be frustrating feeling like your voice isn’t being heard because you’re from a rural, Republican area, but having events like this bring spirit back to the community,” Wildman said.
