Beto O'Rourke Announces Campaign for Democratic Governor of Texas

Failed former presidential candidate and Texas senate candidate Beto O’Rourke announced his run for Texas governor. On Monday, O’Rourke announced, “I am running for governor to serve ALL of the people of Texas. I believe that the only way we are going to achieve great things for this state is by looking out for each other and moving forward together.”

O’Rourke is the only Democratic challenger to the incumbent governor, Gregg Abbott.

O’Rourke said:

“He wanted to combat the fringe policies and incompetence that we see in Texas today.”

O’Rourke has criticized Abbott’s policies of keeping K-12 boys out of girls’ sports and the banning of critical race theory in schools. He also partially blamed Abbott for Covid-19 deaths and the power failure grid last February. O’Rourke has blamed Abbott for the divisiveness in Texas.

After O’Rourke made his official campaign announcement, the Republican Governors Association warned against his progressive policies. They reminded voters about his past comments on restrictions on “assault rifles” and removing the tax-exempt status from religious organizations that don’t support same-sex marriage.

While on the campaign trail for president, he declared, “Hell, yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15.”

RGA spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez stated, “Texas voters have already rejected Beto O’Rourke for statewide office, and they’ll do so again now that they know just how radical he really is.”

O’Rourke ran for Ted Cruz’s senate seat in 2018 and lost by 2.5 percentage points. The same year, Abbott won re-election by double digits. Texas has not elected a Democratic governor since Ann Richards in 1990.

Governor Abbot will be facing some internal primary challengers. Former Florida congressman Allen West has already announced his primary challenge. Abbot has about $55 million in campaign funds left, the most of any incumbent governor. Trump had previously endorsed Governor Abbott.

Republicans have recently made inroads with Hispanic voters near the border. O’Rourke will spend the first day of his campaign in South Texas. During O’Rourke’s last presidential run, Abbot commented about his positions, “They weren’t just at odds with Texans. They were hostile to Texans. He wants to go take your guns and deny your Second Amendment rights. We will not let that happen.”

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Sarah Abrams

Sarah is a wife, new mom, and proud American living in Austin, Texas. She hopes her writing inspires others to seek truth and uphold the values that make this country great. When she is not writing about politics and culture, she enjoys cooking, trying new restaurants, and spending time outdoors with her family.