Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro also start the race in very different places, said Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Sabato said O’Rourke starts with a big fundraising network, more name recognition and is clearly one a top-tier candidate — as evidenced by the $80 million that O’Rourke raised in the U.S. Senate race he lost to Republican Ted Cruz.