[ad_1]
Former Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke is expected to run a third campaign for a major political office with a bid for governor of Texas, Axios reported on Sunday.
Citing anonymous “Texas political agents,” the website said O’Rourke’s challenge to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott would be announced later this year.
Longtime adviser David Wysong told Axios “no decision has been made” but also said O’Rourke “made and received calls with people all over the state” .
Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey also flirted with a challenge to Abbott, an uncompromising Republican who recently stoked liberal outrage by signing new voting restrictions and the country’s toughest abortion law.
Some Democrats fear that a “centrist” run by McConaughey, the star of blockbuster films such as Gold and the Dallas Buyers Club, could divide the anti-Abbott vote.
Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, told Axios. “We hope [O’Rourke is] will run. We believe he will be our best candidate. We think he can beat Abbott.
The 48-year-old served three terms in the United States House in an El Paso district before stepping down to run for the Senate in 2018.
He narrowly lost this race to Ted Cruz, then ran for the Democratic presidential nomination. A charismatic activist, he started the race with force but quickly passed out and retired before the vote started.
He maintained a national profile. This summer, O’Rourke played a leading role in dramatic but ultimately unsuccessful efforts to stop Texas Republicans from restricting voting access to minorities and other Democratic-leaning groups.
Nonetheless, the demographics of Texas are changing and it has become a tempting but elusive prize for Democrats. In 2020, Donald Trump won the state by the same margin as in 2016, while Senator John Cornyn defeated a vaunted challenger.
In July of this year, O’Rourke told the Guardian: “I don’t know if we are a red state. I don’t know if we are a conservative state. I don’t know if we are a state that focuses on the sport of transgender girls or telling people what to do with their bodies.
“I think it really is a minority of the people and voters of this state. It’s just that the majority is not reflected because it does not vote.
Abbott is running for a third term but appears vulnerable, especially after presiding over a fatal failure of the public electricity grid during a cold snap in February and opposing measures to fight Covid-19. Nearly 62,000 Texans have died.
Hinojosa said that “Axios Abbott’s ban on mask and vaccination warrants has not been well accepted by Texans. And with the abortion law, Republicans raised the anger level of Texas women to a level never seen before. “
The Dallas Morning News published a poll on Sunday that showed support for Abbott “plunging, leaving him potentially vulnerable to people like McConaughey and O’Rourke.”
The newspaper said 54% of those polled thought Texas was “on the wrong track” under Abbott, of which 45% approved.
O’Rourke was five points behind Abbott in a hypothetical match-up. McConaughey got a nine-point lead.
[ad_2]
Source link