Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) reacted to Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s kick-off of his gubernatorial campaign Monday morning, telling the failed presidential and U.S. Senate candidate: “Bring it.”
“Beto wants to: – defund the police – kill good paying oil & gas jobs – allow chaotic open border policies – support the failing Biden agenda – impose socialism – take your guns. Bring it,” Abbott wrote on social media of O’Rourke’s announcement.
Earlier Monday, O’Rourke, who served as a U.S. House Representative for Texas’s 16th district between 2013 and 2019, officially launched his gubernatorial run by reaffirming his pledge to take away AR-15 rifles from Lone Star State residents.
“I’m running for governor,” the Texas Democrat tweeted, along with sharing a video announcement. “Together, we can push past the small and divisive politics that we see in Texas today — and get back to the big, bold vision that used to define Texas. A Texas big enough for all of us.”
The Texas Tribune quoted O’Rourke remarking about his gun-control platform, “I think most Texans can agree… that we should not see our friends, our family… our neighbors, shot up with weapons that were originally designed for use on a battlefield.”
O’Rourke sparked ire from gun owners during a 2019 presidential debate when he declared, if he was elected: “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.”
During a March 2020 campaign event in Dallas, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to put O’Rourke in charge of his gun control policy.
“I want to make something clear, I’m going to guarantee you this is not the last you’ve seen of him,” Biden said at the time. “You’re going to take care of the gun problem with me. You’re going to be the one who leads this effort.”
“I’m counting on you. I’m counting on you,” he added. “We need you badly, the state needs you, the country needs you. You’re the best.”
The president’s plans for O’Rourke never came to fruition.
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