Topline
Texans speculate that Beto O'Rourke, a former congressman and presidential candidate, will announce a gubernatorial candidacy after his political action commission, Powered By People teased a "big news coming soon" announcement on social media.
Beto O'Rourke, the then-US Representative, spoke at a Plano, Texas campaign rally on September 15, 2018. AFP via Getty Images
The Key Facts
O'Rourke is said to have been considering running for governor since he dropped out of the 2019 presidential race. He had previously struggled to break through from a competitive Democratic field. O'Rourke would be the first serious Democratic candidate against the incumbent governor. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has served as Texas governor since 2015, will be running for the office in 2022. O'Rourke in 2022, the Republican who has been governor of Texas since 2015, was polled by a few people last week. But a new poll released Friday showed that Abbott led O'Rourke by 9 points. Forbes reached out to Powered By People for comment but they did not respond immediately.
Important Background
O'Rourke represented El Paso (Texas) in the House of Representatives between 2012 and 2018. O'Rourke lost by 2 percentage points to Ted Cruz (R,Texas), after a difficult 2018 Senate campaign that saw him visit all 254 Texas counties. O'Rourke pursued a presidential bid despite being pressured by Texas Democrats to oppose Texas' senior senator John Cornyn in 2020.
Tangent
Matthew McConaughey, actor and Austinite, has been hinting for months at running for governor.
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Texas Governor. Texas Gov. Abbott leads Beto O'Rourke by just 1 point in potential matchup, poll suggests (Forbes).
Beto O'Rourke drops out of the Presidential Race (Forbes).
