Beto O’Rourke plans to become governor of Texas

Former United States Representative Beto O’Rourke is preparing to run for governor of Texas, according to a report released on Sunday – as a new poll showed the former Democratic presidential hopeful was gaining ground against Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

O’Rourke plans to announce his return candidacy later this year, Axios said, citing unidentified political agents in the Lone Star State.

Abbott is seeking re-election in 2022 and has raised more than $ 55 million for his campaign.

But support for the incumbent has declined since January and is now just 45%, with 54% of them saying Texas is on the wrong track, according to a poll conducted last week by the Dallas Morning News and the ‘University of Texas at Tyler.

O’Rourke reduced Abbott’s lead in a hypothetical game from 12 percentage points to 5 in the past two months, the Morning News reported on Sunday.

Pollster Mark Owens, professor at UT Tyler, said Abbott was hurt by his staunchly conservative positions on “so many issues” – including opposing mandatory mask wear and COVID-19 vaccinations and defending the strict state anti-abortion law.

O’Rourke recently footed the bill for some Democratic state lawmakers to flee Texas in an attempt to block passage of a local Republican election reform bill.

O’Rourke served three terms in the United States House of Representatives before losing a 2018 candidacy to topple U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (D-Texas) which saw him build a nationwide audience and garner over 80 millions of dollars in donations.

He abandoned his candidacy for the White House ahead of last year’s election, saying he did not “have the means to move forward successfully.”

O’Rourke sought advice from his political allies ahead of his planned gubernatorial campaign, Axios said.

“We hope he will show up,” state Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told Axios.

“We believe he will be our strongest candidate. We think he can beat Abbott because [the governor is] vulnerable.”

Still, O’Rourke’s former chief of staff and longtime adviser David Wysong insisted: “No decision has been made.

“He’s made and received calls with people all over the state,” Wysong told O’Rourke’s Axios.

A gubernatorial bid would also pit O’Rourke against Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who has publicly flirted with a campaign since March.

McConaughey did not say whether he would run as a Democrat, Republican or Independent.