Changes

==Background==

==Background==

The Irish-American O'Rourke claims that his nickname "Beto" came from childhood as a shortened name for "Roberto" in Spanish; many of his friends are Hispanic.  At [[Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], at which he participated on the rowing team, he was known as "Robert" or "Rob". O'Rourke's mother is the former Meissa Martha Williams. His father was El Paso County Judge Pat Francis O'Rourke, a political associate of former Texas [[Governor]] [[Mark White]], whose son, Andrew White, is a candidate in the May 22 Democratic gubernatorial runoff election against the former sheriff of Dallas County, [[Lupe Valdez]]. The senior O'Rourke was killed in July 2001, when he was struck from behind by a vehicle while he was riding his bicycle across the state line into [[New Mexico]].<ref>Bill Lambrecht, "From border to brink of Senate run, ''San Antonio Express-News'', March 17, 2017, pp. 1, A9.</ref>

The Irish-American O'Rourke claims that his nickname "Beto" came from childhood as a shortened name for "Roberto" in Spanish; many of his friends are Hispanic.  At [[Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], at which he participated on the rowing team, he was known as "Robert" or "Rob". O'Rourke's mother is the former Meissa Martha Williams. His father was El Paso County Judge Pat Francis O'Rourke, a political associate of former Texas [[Governor]] [[Mark White]], whose son, Andrew White, lost the May 22 Democratic gubernatorial runoff election to the former sheriff of Dallas County, [[Lupe Valdez]]. The senior O'Rourke was killed in July 2001, when he was struck from behind by a vehicle while he was riding his bicycle across the state line into [[New Mexico]].<ref>Bill Lambrecht, "From border to brink of Senate run, ''San Antonio Express-News'', March 17, 2017, pp. 1, A9.</ref>

==Political career==

==Political career==