WFAA file
DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke says he won’t run for governor next year.
Or, rather, he has no plans to do so at this time.
Many Texas Democrats are urging O’Rourke to be the party’s candidate but in an interview for Lone Star Politics on KXAS-TV he said, “I’ve got no plans to run, and I’m very focused on the things that I’m lucky enough to do right now — organizing, registering voters and teaching. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing now.”
The El Paso Democrat said he had considered running but gave the clear impression he had decided against it. Hours later, however, he seemed to be leaving the door open. In a prepared statement, he told the Dallas Morning News, “What I said today is what I’ve been saying for months: I’m not currently considering a run for office. I’m focused on what I’m doing now (teaching and organizing). Nothing’s changed and nothing I said would preclude me from considering a run in the future.”
O’Rourke was thrust into the national political spotlight in 2018 when he waged a surprisingly strong challenge of incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, losing that race by merely 2.6 percentage points. The close margin encouraged O’Rourke to enter the Democratic presidential primary race for 2020.
In his initial comments to KXAS O’Rourke said he’s happy working in the background organizing, registering voters and teaching at the University of Texas and Texas State University, and that he would continue to do those things. His clarification to the Morning News has people wondering if he’s still assessing his chances of beating Gregg Abbott, a two-term incumbent governor with powerful campaign resources.
