O’Rourke’s announcement kicks off a third run for office in as many election cycles.
Beto’s back. Former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke announced on Monday he’ll run to unseat Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in next year’s elections. “I want to serve this state and try to bring the people of Texas together to do some of the really big work that is before us,” O’Rourke told Texas Monthly magazine. “(We need to) get past this smallness and divisiveness that Greg Abbott has brought to Texas.” His announcement kicks off a third run for office in as many election cycles. The ex-congressman narrowly lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018 in an impressive statewide debut that turned him into something of a liberal cult figure and a formidable grassroots fundraiser. But O’Rourke,49, stumbled badly in the Democratic presidential primary campaign and dropped out before a single vote was cast.
