Beto O’Rourke’s former bandmate said he hopes the failed Senate candidate will run for higher office in spite of losing Tuesday’s midterm election to Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, a member of Mr. O’Rourke’s former group Foss, made the remark on Twitter after the Democratic hopeful narrowly lost his effort to unseat Mr. Cruz this week.
“I don’t care if u lost,” tweeted Mr. Bixler-Zavala. “You made them tremble with the simple prospect of real change. You are one of us. I have nothing but respect and admiration for you. I’m in tears. I can only hope you run for president.”
“Nothing but mad respect to Beto’s family for going out there with him,” the musician added.
Mr. Bixler-Zavala, 44, played drums and sang for Foss alongside Mr. O’Rourke in the early 1990s. Foss failed to garner mainstream success, but two of Mr. Bixler-Zavala’s subsequent projects — At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta — eventually earned him accolades including a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Mr. O’Rourke, 46, lost Tuesday’s Senate race by a margin of 50.9 to 48.3, nearly costing Mr. Cruz his seat in the famously conservative Lone Star State.
Discussing his future ambitions last month, Mr. O’Rourke indicated he was opposed to subjecting his wife and two kids to another political campaign as soon as the next White House race.
“We can’t be out on the road for another two years. Nor would I want [to]. Nor do I think that’s right,” he told ABC News.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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