Richard W. Rodriguez/AP
Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running for Senate in Texas, called for President Donald Trump's impeachment on Tuesday
- Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke called for President Donald Trump to be impeached on Tuesday.
- O'Rourke said Trump's controversial press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin merited his impeachment.
- O'Rourke is running a competitive bid against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas.
High-profile Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who is running for Senate in Texas, called for President Donald Trump to be impeached following his shocking joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
"Standing on stage in another country with the leader of another country who wants to and has sought to undermine this country, and to side with him over the United States - if I were asked to vote on this I would vote to impeach the president," O'Rourke told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.
"Impeachment, much like an indictment, shows that there is enough there for the case to proceed and at this point there is certainly enough there for the case to proceed," he said.
In the Monday press conference, Trump sparked outrage around the world and among key leaders of his own party for saying there was "no reason to believe" widespread consensus among the US intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. He also attacked his own law enforcement agency, the FBI, and agent Peter Stzrok.
But on Tuesday afternoon, Trump backtracked, saying he accepted the intelligence community's conclusions and that his remarks were misinterpreted.
Despite Texas being a reliably Republican state, O'Rourke, who currently represents Texas' 21st congressional district, is posing a formidable challenge to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.
O'Rourke has out-raised and out-spent Cruz throughout the entire campaign, raking in a stunning $10.4 million in the last fiscal quarter alone. O'Rourke has also pledged not to take any corporate or PAC money.
While the Cook Political Report still rates the race as likely Republican, recent polling from the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune found Cruz maintaining just a 5% lead over O'Rourke.
"We MUST close the gap. We're being outraised by almost 3-to-1 and the polls are getting closer. We need to step up," said a Cruz campaign fundraising email from Friday.