Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas — Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke will bring his Every Campus Counts Tour to South Texas College on Monday, Sept. 14, as part of a voter registration event organized by the STC College Democrats Club.
O’Rourke is scheduled to arrive at 10 a.m. at the STC Pecan Campus, Building H, Room H-126, at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. The voter registration event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the college.
The event is intended to give students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to check their voter registration status or register to vote ahead of the upcoming elections. STC Student Activities and Wellness will participate along with the College Democrats Club and members of the campus community.
The visit brings one of Texas’ best-known Democratic political figures back to the Rio Grande Valley after a political career that includes service in local and federal government, as well as campaigns for the U.S. Senate, the presidency, and governor.
O’Rourke began his elected political career on the El Paso City Council, serving from 2005 to 2011. He later won election to the U.S. House as a Democrat and represented Texas’ 16th Congressional District for three terms, from January 2013 until January 2019.
Rather than seek another House term in 2018, O’Rourke challenged Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. O’Rourke lost the closely watched statewide election, but the campaign elevated his national political profile. The official Biographical Directory of the United States Congress records him as an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate that year.
His next political attempt came on the national stage. In March 2019, O’Rourke entered the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He ended that campaign in November 2019, before the Democratic primaries began.
O’Rourke returned to Texas electoral politics in 2022, becoming the Democratic nominee for governor and challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. He lost the November general election. His congressional biography also records the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign.
The Monday appearance at STC is centered on voter participation rather than a campaign for elected office. According to the event announcement, the College Democrats Club wants students, faculty and staff to have an opportunity to make sure they are prepared to participate at the polls.
The event comes during STC’s fall semester, which began Aug. 24. The college’s official academic calendar confirms that Sept. 14 falls during the regular Fall 2026 term.
South Texas College was founded in 1993 and currently offers more than 131 degree and certificate options and five baccalaureate degrees.
