‘They out Trump’d Trump’: Nicolle Wallace explains why Beto O’Rourke and Andrew Gillum have captivated America

MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" on Wednesday praised two Democratic Party candidates running statewide in large Southern states for their incredible ability to connect with voters.

Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for United States Senate seat in Texas. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is running for governor of Florida, facing Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Anchor Nicolle Wallace played clips from the two candidates as representing the closing message for the Democratic Party in the midterms.

"We were saying as we were watching those clips, they're good," Wallace concluded. "They may be -- Beto and Gillum -- may be the two best Democratic candidates running this cycle."

NBC News national affairs analyst John Heilemann said, "both of them are not only in the top of their class in terms of rising stars in the party, but they are both better communicators than anyone who ran for president on the Democratic side in 2016 -- and that includes the nominee and Bernie Sanders."

"They're both very, very good," he added. "Huge figures in the party whether they win or lose."

"They out-Trump'd Trump at Trumpism, they went straight to the third rail and played on that dangerous terrain," Wallace noted.

"What's interesting about them, is not only great communicators or communicating clearly what the opposition is -- what the choice is -- they're speaking to young people and they are speaking to the next set of voters," noted Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude.

"They're speaking to the America that is coming into being -- over and against the America that is wailing about, because it knows it's dying," he continued.

"So I find them to be really interesting, because they're standing at the cusp of this transition we're in," Glaude added.

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