Beto O'Rourke fandom reaches bizarre levels in Texas Senate race
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}'Betomania' is resulting in some bizarre tributes for the Democratic candidate challenging Ted Cruz.
Though Rep. Beto O’Rourke is trailing Sen. Cruz in the polls, his fans haven’t lost their enthusiasm for the rocker-turned-congressman. Supporters have now painted giant murals of the Democrat and created viral – if not slightly cringe-worthy – videos for O’Rourke.
Though his legal name is Robert Francis O’Rourke, the Democrat goes by Beto – a nickname his followers have latched on to with their antics. In one video encouraging people to vote early for O’Rourke, an actress wore a jacket that said “Beto’s bandits.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News has ranked the race as likely Republican.
Here’s a look at three of the more over-the-top ways fans have shown their support for O’Rourke.
Dancing with the voters
A gaggle of O’Rourke fans showed their support for the candidate through song and dance.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Changing the words to the Village People’s “YMCA” song to spell out B-E-T-O, the revelers sang, “Texas, we can all celebrate because, Texas, there is one candidate who’s the hands down, clear-cut winner.”
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The O’Rourke campaign did not pay those in the video, Hussein Marouf said on social media. Marouf said he did the video’s editing and audio mixing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“This video was a genuine collaborative effort produced by many wonderful volunteers of all ages and ethnicities, each endowed with their own unique talents,” Marouf said.
The viral video had more than 34,000 views on YouTube as of Wednesday afternoon.
‘There is a superhero in all of us’
O’Rourke is the hero artist Chris Rogers thinks we deserve.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On the side of a massive wall in Austin, Texas, Rogers painted O’Rourke as a superhero, with his shirt opened to reveal a “B” on his chest and an American flag billowing behind him.
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It reportedly took Rogers 40 hours to paint O’Rourke’s likeness. He said he did it to show “out of the darkness comes the light,” according to Austin Monthly magazine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}‘Beto’s bandits’
The actors of Esther’s Follies – an Austin-based theater troupe that bills itself as the “Texas answer to SNL” – have got O’Rourke’s back.
A trio of actors danced and sang their way through a nearly three-minute-long video giving reasons to vote for O’Rourke as soon as early voting opens in Texas.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“He played guitar in a rock-and-roll band like Bernie Sanders, but he’s got a tan,” the ladies sing.
“I know my Beto can take it. He’s a little behind, but he can make it. Once you go Beto, you’re never going back,” they sing while wearing an “I’m a Betomaniac for Senate” shirt.
The video had more than 35,000 views on YouTube by Wednesday afternoon.