Beto Sex Tweet — Leah McElrath viral tweet about Beto O'Rourke on blue background with bloody Twitter bird icons

Beto Sex Tweet

2018viral tweetclassic

Published November 15, 2026

Beto Sex Tweet is the nickname online users attached to a November 12, 2018 Twitter post by political analyst Leah McElrath, who ranked three potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates by sexual analogy and described Beto O'Rourke as the guy who 'makes you cum until your calves cramp.' Within hours the post drew thousands of shocked quote replies and coverage from Vice, Mel Magazine and the Daily Dot. By mid-November 2018 the nickname itself was a Twitter in-joke, used by users who refused to link the original.

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Overview

McElrath's post worked by placing Richard Ojeda and Michael Avenatti as the 'grocery list' type lovers and O'Rourke as the 'sweet and nerdy' man who 'holds you down,' using horny praise to argue for one candidate over the others2. Reactions split two ways. Many users quote-tweeted in disgust, with some refusing to link the original by handle and calling it only by its new nickname1. User @BrandyLJensen joked about joining No Nut November because of it, while Chapo Trap House co-host Will Menaker ran a sarcastic 'I've BEEN saying this!'4 The calf-cramp detail drew its own thread of commentary, with Mel Magazine publishing a physiology piece arguing that cramping during sex is typically a sign of dehydration, not a great orgasm3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter
Creator
Leah McElrath
Date
2018

Leah McElrath, a writer and political commentator, posted the three-candidate ranking on November 12, 2018, days after O'Rourke's narrow loss to Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race1. The tweet drew more than 1,600 retweets, 11,000 likes and 1,600 replies2. McElrath explicitly meant the comparison as praise for O'Rourke; she described Richard Ojeda and Michael Avenatti as the kind of partner who makes you review your grocery list in your head while waiting for him to finish2.

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How It Spread

Actress Debra Messing quote-tweeted the post with 'This. Is. Everything.,' amplifying it to her Will & Grace audience4. Comments ranging from horror to mock envy stacked up within hours. Vice called the tweet proof that 'the internet was a mistake' and catalogued the horror replies, including one that cast the thread as a Ring-style curse that ends your ability to feel horny1. Daily Dot declared November 12 'Beto Sex Tweet Day'5, and Mel Magazine's calf-cramp physiology piece followed soon after3. McElrath answered the backlash by arguing that recoil at women openly expressing desire was a symptom of the toxic masculinity that shaped the 2016 presidential election and would shape 20204.

Timeline

2018-11-12

Leah McElrath posts the three-candidate sexual ranking tweet, which quickly draws over 11,000 likes and 1,600 replies.

2018-11-12

Debra Messing quote-tweets 'This. Is. Everything.,' amplifying it to her mainstream audience the same day Stan Lee dies.

2018-11-13

Daily Dot publishes a writeup declaring November 12 'Beto Sex Tweet Day.'

2018-11-13

Vice runs a piece arguing the tweet 'proves the internet was a mistake.'

2018-11

Mel Magazine publishes a physiology explainer arguing calf cramps during sex indicate dehydration, not a great orgasm.

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