Former representative and failed Democrat presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke announced Monday his intent to run for Texas governor, setting up a clash with Gov. Greg Abbott (R) who already has a war chest of roughly $55 million at hand.
O’Rourke confirmed to Texas Monthly he intends to run for governor, adding, “I want to serve this state and try to bring the people of Texas together to do some of the really big work that is before us.” He aimed at Abbott saying he wants to move past the “smallness and divisiveness” he brought to the state.
O’Rourke also sent out the announcement through email to his former supporters. “I am running for governor to serve ALL of the people of Texas,” he wrote, according to the Hill. “I believe that the only way we are going to achieve great things for this state is by looking out for each other and moving forward together.”
However Abbott has raised more than any governor in United States history and already released an attack ad against the Democrat. O’Rourke provided the Abbott campaign with enough sound bites after his failed senate run three years ago when he challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for his seat and lost by 2.6 points.
When the 2020 presidential election polls started looking sour for the Democrat, his campaign began to bar some members of the press from his campaign events, including Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak.
“O’Rourke has decided that he is entitled to abuse members of the press who cannot be relied upon to provide favorable coverage,” Pollak wrote at the time. “O’Rourke’s campaign ejected this Breitbart News reporter from a speech at Benedict College, a historically black college.”
Abbott’s campaign launched a 30-second digital attack ad titled “Wrong Way O’Rourke.” The ad depicts O’Rourke’s far-left views on energy, guns, health care, and immigration:
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.