O’Rourke is weighing 2022 bid for governor
Democrat Beto O’Rourke has left no doubt that he’s weighing a run for governor next year.
“You know what, it’s something I’m going to think about,” O’Rourke said in an exclusive interview on an El Paso radio station earlier this week.
And in case anyone missed the interview, a political action committee O’Rourke started called Powered By People is circulating it on social media.
The former congressman from El Paso, who lost a close race for U.S. Senate in 2018, told KLAQ host Buzz Adams that Texas
has “suffered perhaps more than any other” state during the pandemic and criticized Gov. Greg Abbott for a “complete indifference” to helping local leaders try to save lives.
“I want to make sure we have someone in the highest office in our state who’s going to make sure that all of us are OK,” the 48year-old O’Rourke said. “And especially those communities that so often don’t get the resources or attention or the help, like El Paso.”
Abbott’s spokesman would not comment Wednesday on O’Rourke’s potential bid.
“We don’t take anything for granted,” Abbott’s political strategist, Dave Carney, told The Dallas Morning News in an interview two weeks ago. “There’ll be a general election opponent, and (Democrats) will put a lot of effort in and they’ll raise a lot of money.”
While it feels like the 2020 elections just ended, Texas’ early 2022 primary schedule puts potential statewide candidates on a fast track if they have hopes of seriously competing for offices like governor or lieutenant governor. The Texas political primaries are on March 1 — giving candidates just over a year to raise money in one of the most expensive states in the nation for campaigning. The filing period to get on the ballot starts Nov. 14.
Abbott, who has already said he’s seeking re-election for a third four-year term, has already been flexing his financial muscle. Abbott has almost $38 million sitting in his campaign account to fend off would-be challengers.
But if 2018 showed anything, it’s that O’Rourke can easily raise that kind of money with a national fundraising base that helped him raise $79 million against Sen. Ted Cruz. Still Cruz was able to win by 2.6 percent of the vote — the closest a Democrat has come to winning a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since the 1980s.
O’Rourke’s continued that fundraising through Powered by People. Through the PAC, he raised nearly $19 million in 2020 that was spent on voter registration programs and trying to help flip the Texas House to Democratic control.
But Abbott, 63, might have more to worry about than just the general election as he runs for his third term.
Abbott has been under siege for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic from some in the Republican Party of Texas, including party chairman Allen West, a former Florida congressman who now lives in Garland. West has opposed Abbott’s mask requirement, called for a special session to curb Abbott’s executive powers during the pandemic and was part of a lawsuit seeking to overturn Abbott’s expansion of early voting last November. Some county GOP executive committees have even gone so far as to publicly censure Abbott for his handling of the pandemic.
There are other potential primary challengers, including state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas. During a rally near the steps of the Capitol in early January, Huffines tore into Abbott, calling him “King Greg” and saying he hasn’t done anything on big GOP priorities like election security.
What is clear is that Abbott won’t be facing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a primary. The Republican from Montgomery County has already made clear he intends to run for re-election and not challenge Abbott.
“I remain honored to serve as Lt. Governor and look forward to running for re-election,” Patrick, 70, told supporters two weeks ago in a statement.
On the Democratic side, 2018 lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier has been sounding like he’s ready for a rematch. Earlier this week he said in a tweet that Texans want Patrick out of the office and “my phone is ringing off the hook.”
Also up for re-election in 2022 will be Attorney General Ken Paxton, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, State Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Land Commissioner George P. Bush. All are Republicans.
Texas will not have a U.S. Senate race in 2022. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican, won reelection last year, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is next up for re-election in 2024.
Advisers to Bush have made it clear that he is looking to serve in a “higher role” but also have said he is not prepping to challenge Abbott or Patrick.
“While he wouldn’t challenge current Governor (Greg) Abbott or Lieutenant Governor Patrick, if an opening presents itself he would absolutely consider serving Texans in a higher role. When that moment arises, he’s ready,” Bush adviser J.R. Hernandez is quoted by The National Review in a 2019 article.