The Political Insider

According to a new report, former Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke is getting ready to run for governor in Texas.

In the last few years, O’Rourke has unsuccessfully run for both the Senate and President.

The news comes from an Axios story that was published on Sunday.

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Head Of Texas Dems: ‘We Think He Can Beat Abbott’

O’Rourke has been calling state leaders throughout Texas asking political allies their advice, according to Axios.  

But according to O’Rourke’s advisers, including David Wysong who served as his former chief of staff, no firm decisions has been made on if he runs or not.

Wysong told Axios that O’Rourke “has been making and receiving calls with people from all over the state.”

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa told Axios, “We hope that he’s going to run. We think he’ll be our strongest candidate.”

They may be right. In 2018, O’Rourke fared very well against Senator Ted Cruz – losing by less than three points.

His 2020 run for the President, however, was a flop.

On a potential matchup between O’Rourke and incumbent governor Greg Abbott in the general election, Hinojosa said, “We think he can beat Abbott, because he’s vulnerable.”

Hinojosa explained that Abbott’s “prohibition against mask and vaccination mandates have not gone over well with Texans.” 

“And with the abortion law, Republicans have raised the anger level of Texas women higher than anyone has ever seen before,” Hinojosa said.

If they remember him at all, those on the right remember O’Rourke for his radical positions on gun control. 

During one of the presidential debates in 2019, O’Rourke famously said, “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15.”

Rather than viewing the episode as a gaffe, O’Rourke doubled down and campaigned on it.

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New Poll Shows Trouble For Gov. Abbott

News that O’Rourke could run comes at a bad time for Abbott.

The Dallas Morning News reported on Sunday that Abbott’s “overall support is plunging, potentially leaving him vulnerable to the likes of actor Matthew McConaughey and former congressman Beto O’Rourke, according to a new poll from The Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler.”

“A whopping 54% of Texans surveyed think the state is on the wrong track,” the news outlet noted. “Just 45% approve of the governor’s job performance.”

“In the past two months, McConaughey has gone from slightly behind to 9 percentage points ahead of Abbott in a hypothetical match-up, and O’Rourke has cut the governor’s lead from 12 points to five,” the Dallas Morning News observed.