Beto O'Rourke's Campaign Gets Hit by a Class Action Lawsuit
It’s bad enough for the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke that despite raising massive amounts of money, he’s trailing in the polls behind incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.
But now, at least one Texan has found hearing from O’Rourke’s campaign so obnoxious that he filed a class action lawsuit to ensure he won’t get any more texts from the campaign.
The lawsuit claims that in texting without getting residents’ permission, the campaign is violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The suit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by Sameer Syeed of Collin County. Neither Syeed nor his attorney, Shawn Jaffer, have commented on the suit.
The lawsuit claims that Syeed received nine texts from Beto for Texas without ever giving the campaign permission to contact him.
The suit also claims he wanted to stop the texts but could not text back. Attempts to call the number the texts came from resulted in error messages or a disconnect. The suit argues this proves the calls came from an automated phone system.
That’s important for the lawsuit because the Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans sending texts without permission except in an emergency.
I want in on this lawsuit. So sick of the Beto texts clogging up my phone. Go away, fake Hispanic Robert #Beto O’Rourke! ?#VetoBeto #ChooseCruz #VoteRedToSaveAmerica https://t.co/ZO5hyvxR3Q
— Bossy Brat (@JGalt09) October 20, 2018
Chris Evans, communications director of Beto for Texas, dismissed the suit.
“Our grassroots volunteer program with thousands of Texans canvassing, phone banking, texting, and organizing is the largest this state has seen. It is fully compliant with the law,” he said.
The suit wants the campaign to fork over at least $500 per text message to anyone who signs onto the suit.
O’Rourke’s campaign is not short of cash. KHOU reported that O’Rourke has raised just over $60 million against Cruz, whose fundraising had totaled just shy of $35 million.
Despite the fact that the Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Cruz with a 7 percentage point lead, Cruz is fighting hard for every vote.
President Donald Trump, who will hold a rally for Cruz on Monday, tweeted his support for his former GOP presidential primary opponent on Friday.
“Beto O’Rourke is a total lightweight compared to Ted Cruz, and he comes nowhere near representing the values and desires of the people of the Great State of Texas. He will never be allowed to turn Texas into Venezuela!” Trump tweeted.
Beto O’Rourke is a total lightweight compared to Ted Cruz, and he comes nowhere near representing the values and desires of the people of the Great State of Texas. He will never be allowed to turn Texas into Venezuela!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 19, 2018
O’Rourke has said that if he is elected, he would vote to impeach Trump.
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