Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has helped raise funds for a Democrat looking to defeat Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican, after the incumbent state legislator had announced his AR-15 is “ready” for O’Rourke, the Houston Chronicle is reporting.
O’Rourke had sent out an email over the weekend asking for contributions for the campaign of Cain’s challenger, Josh Markle. It sparked more than 3,600 donations and brought in more than $43,000, the Chronicle said.
Since Cain had posted his AR-15 comments in a tweet, Markle has brought in a total of $68,000, according to the newspaper.
O’Rourke, a former congressman from Texas, had claimed Cain’s comment was a death threat. It came after O’Rourke, discussing stricter gun laws during the recent Democratic debate, had said: “Hell yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15.”
Meanwhile, Markle welcomed the funds for his campaign.
“I’ve been running and campaigning for six months and haven’t heard anything from anyone prior to this weekend,” Markle said. “I think with this energy we have now — from this weekend, from the tweet, and from Beto’s support — that this is definitely winnable now.”
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