Column: Abercrombie gives Beto O’Rourke’s presidential candidacy an enthusiastic thumbs up

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Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke speaks during an interview following a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. O’Rourke announced that he’ll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

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As the Beto O’Rourke for President campaign arrives in Hawaii, some of the first hands pushing the effort forward belong to former Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

Hours before the 46-year-old former El Paso congressman announced his candidacy, Abercrombie was already signaling that he wanted to help.

By Thursday, when O’Rourke’s campaign launched, Abercrombie was all thumbs-up.

“It is about youth energy and change, new blood, new ideas and new people,” said the 80-year-old Abercrombie, who predicted O’Rourke will present a challenge to the two front-running old hands, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a personal friend of Abercrombie’s, and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“In this campaign, it is crystal clear that whatever the individual issues are, the principal and overriding issue in this Democratic primary is, who can beat Donald Trump,” Abercrombie said in an interview. “It is not so much specific policy issues, but rather a candidate’s charisma that will be most potent in the 2020 president campaign.”

That special spark that former successful presidential candidates possessed also is seen in O’Rourke, Abercrombie said.

“What happened with JFK (former president John Kennedy) and Barack will happen with O’Rourke,” he predicted.

Also supporting O’Rourke is former Hawaii state Rep. Karen Horita, who last year traveled to Texas to help coordinate O’Rourke’s grassroots campaign. While O’Rourke lost the general election to GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, Horita is leaving this weekend to spend another campaign in Texas, this time with the O’Rourke presidential campaign.

“What I like about Beto is he is one of those once-in-a-lifetime candidates. I have worked in so many campaigns, small medium and big. Beto is somebody who communicates to the individual, heart to heart, gut to gut,” Horita said.

While most local political leaders are staying out of the early presidential campaigns, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, like Abercrombie, has picked a candidate. She is endorsing U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in her race for president. Gabbard endorsed Hanabusa in the last Democratic primary race for governor.

“I support Tulsi for what she especially represents for girls and young women in Hawaii. They should all know that they can dream, work hard and be whatever they want to,” Hanabusa said.

“Let’s not forget, Hillary (Clinton) did win the popular vote. I am sure many who said they could not support her, regret that decision. Tulsi mentioned (Hawaii’s former U.S. Rep.) Patsy Mink as her mentor. It is only due to the work and sacrifices by Patsy and others, that Tulsi can run today.”

The three-term Texas congressman has shown a flair for social media and grassroots organizing that paid off with solid fundraising in the Texas Senate race. That campaign savvy showed up in early interest from both Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey, but with the 2020 election so far in the future, O’Rourke speculation, while interesting, is not indicative of a trend.