Who is Beto O'Rourke? | The Sun

FORMER congressional member Beto O'Rourke announced his bid to run for governor of Texas in November 2021.

He is running against Governor Greg Abbott, who has held the position since 2014, and if he wins, he will be the first Democratic governor since 1995.

Who is Beto O'Rourke?

Beto O'Rourke, 49, was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, and is running for governor as the only Democrat challenging the Republican incumbent, Governor Greg Abbott.

Prior to running for governor, O'Rourke was a member of Congress from 2013 to 2019 when he resigned from his position and announced his bid to enter the 2020 presidential election.

Despite his efforts, O'Rourke ran out of funding by November of that year and was forced to pull out of the race.

In a thank you message on Medium, O'Rourke thanked his supporters and said he would back whichever democratic candidate would face former President Donald Trump in 2020.

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"Our campaign has been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively in the best interests of America," he wrote.

"Though it is difficult to accept, it is clear to me now that this campaign does not have the means to move forward successfully. My service to the country will not be as a candidate or as a nominee.

"Acknowledging this now is in the best interests of those in the campaign; it is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee, and it is in the best interests of the country."

What are his campaign policies?

O'Rourke has been a repeated advocate against gun violence in Texas and took a stronger stance on his position in 2018 when a gunman killed 23 people at a Walmart in his hometown of El Paso.

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While running for president, O'Rourke spoke at a rally in Houston, and said, "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15 and your AK-47," adding, "We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.”

He told The New York Times that his stance on the issue hasn't changed but speaking at a news conference in Tyler, Texas, O'Rourke said, “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone. What I want to make sure we do is defend the Second Amendment.”

However, the Times reported that in a phone interview, O'Rourke said he wasn't backing down from his original stance on guns.

“I don’t think that we should have AR-15s and AK-47s on the streets of this state — I have seen what they do to my fellow Texans in El Paso in 2019,” he told the outlet.

“I haven’t changed a thing about that. I’m just telling you I’m going to focus on what I can actually do as governor and where the common ground is.”

On May 25, 2022, O'Rourke interrupted a press conference being held by Governor Abbott regarding the Robb Elementary School shooting.

"You are doing nothing," O'Rourke said to the governor before he was escorted out of the press conference.

“Why are we letting this happen in this country? Why is this happening in this state? Year after year, city after city.”

O'Rourke is also speaking out in defense of abortion rights and held a rally in Houston on May 7, 2022, to speak out against the leaked US Supreme Court draft documents that may reverse Roe v. Wade, which would remove a woman's right to abortion.

After the abortion rally, O'Rourke said, “People’s lives are on the line now, and I’m going to do everything in my power to fight for them."

His other policies include:

• Power Grid and Utility Bills: Fixing the power grid so Texans do not run the risk of losing power
• World-Class Schools: Put additional funding toward schools to increase teacher's salaries and address student's learning gaps
• Healthcare: Provide affordable healthcare to all Texans
• Rural Investment: Expand Medicaid and keep rural hospitals open
• Energy: Expand energy jobs, work to remove emissions, and enforce pollution laws.
• Public Safety: Work to curb violent crime.
• Border and Immigration: Develop border security reforms to allow for a legal, orderly system of immigration.
• Property Taxes: Work to deliver sustainable property tax relief for homeowners.
• Voting Rights: Ensure that every Texan has easy access to vote and cast their ballots in elections.
• Marijuana: Legalize the use and distribution of marijuana in the state and expunge the records of those incarcerated on marijuana charges.
• Veterans: Improve benefits and access to mental healthcare, and end homelessness for all Texas veterans.

In an interview with the Texas Tribune in November 2021, O'Rourke said, “I’m running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott."

“It is time for change,” he added.

How is Beto O'Rourke doing in the polls?

As of early May, O'Rourke was trailing behind Abbott in the polls, according to a new poll released by the University of Texas at Austin/Texas Politics Project.

48 percent of registered voters in Texas backed Abbott, while 37 percent supported O'Rourke.

16 percent of Texans say they are undecided.

Joshua Blank, the research director of the Texas Politics Project, said on UT News: "Support for both Abbott and O'Rourke has remained consistent among key groups of voters in the electorate, looking back over the last three UT surveys."

He added, "If O'Rourke is going to tighten the race with Abbott over the next seven months, he's going to have to improve his standing among independents, Hispanics, and suburban voters relative to the governor."

On August 28, 2022, O'Rourke announced that he was temporarily off the campaign trail because he had a bacterial infection.

O'Rourke said in a statement: "After feeling ill on Friday, I went to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio where I was diagnosed with a bacterial infection.

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"While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors' recommendations. I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but promise to be back on the road as soon as I am able."

Thanking the medical staff who attended to him, he stated: "The extraordinary team there — from custodians to nurses and doctors — gave me excellent care and attention, including IV antibiotics and rest."

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