Beto O'Rourke announces he's running for Texas governor in 2022

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) announced his plans on Monday to run for governor of Texas against incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. 

O’Rourke ran for the Senate in 2018 and was defeated by Sen. Ted Cruz, and he entered the crowded Democratic field for the 2020 presidential race in 2019. He made the announcement, according to The Hill, “in a fundraising email to supporters, where he touted himself as a unity candidate and railed against ‘fringe policies and incompetence that we see in Texas today.’”

“I am running for governor to serve ALL of the people of Texas,” he said. 

O’Rourke posted a video on Twitter attempting to differentiate himself from the current governor. He cited the failure of the power grid last February during a particularly harsh winter storm, and touted other issues including the expansion of Medicaid. 

Following his three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, O’Rourke ran against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 and came within three points of winning. But his presidential bid was not as successful, dropping out in November of 2019 before any primaries were held.

O’Rourke faces a daunting challenge, as the incumbent Gov. Abbott already has $55 million for his re-election campaign, according to The Hill, assuming he wins the GOP nomination, which he is heavily favored to do. 

Republicans appear to relish the opportunity to run against O’Rourke in light of some of his campaign pledges made during the Democratic presidential primaries: 

“Beto 2.0 vowed to confiscate the firearms of law-abiding citizens, pledged to tear down physical barriers along the border, and supported regulations that would kill over a million jobs across the state and raise taxes and the cost of living on families and small businesses,” said Republican Governors Association spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez, according to the outlet. “There's no telling how far Beto 3.0 will go in his vain attempt to stay relevant after running out of promotions to chase in Washington.”

O'Rourke, who is fluent in Spanish, has received criticism from the liberal Daily Beast, among others, for cultural appropriation. The accusation is based on the fact that the Irish-American O'Rourke uses the Latino nickname of "Beto" suggesting "Hispanic heritage."