Beto O’Rourke Expected To Run For Governor Of Texas

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) is reportedly preparing to run for governor of Texas next year and is expected to make an official announcement later this year.

The former lawmaker has been making calls all over the state of Texas recently, soliciting advice from his allies.

His political advisers, however, claimed that O’Rourke still hasn’t made his final decision yet.

“No decision has been made,” David Wysong, O’Rourke’s former chief of staff and an adviser, told Axios. “He has been making and receiving calls with people from all over the state.”

A recent poll by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler suggests that O’Rourke has been closing the gap with the current Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in a hypothetical matchup, down 37%-42%, which is much narrower compared to the 33%-45% back in July.

“We hope that he’s going to run,” Gilberto Hinojosa, Texas Democratic Party chair, told Axios. “We think he’ll be our strongest candidate. We think he can beat Abbott because he’s vulnerable.” 

If O’Rourke enters the gubernatorial race next year, he could also face the actor Matthew McConaughey, who has recently shown interest in running. The actor has not specified which party he might run in.

Abbott has been facing a huge backlash for his restrictive new abortion law that passed the Supreme Court earlier this month.

Texas recently was sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over a new law banning abortion after six months of pregnancy.

More recently, Abbott also finalized an election law that adds more voting restrictions on the state’s citizens, three months after the Democratic lawmakers spent months trying to block the bill from becoming law by fleeing the state. 

Article by Dongyoon Shin