Beto O'Rourke Announces Run for Texas Governor

Beto O’Rourke announced he would run for Texas governor in a video posted to Twitter on Monday morning, November 15.

In the video, O’Rourke references February’s electrical grid failure in Texas, which left thousands without power and heat in freezing temperatures.

“They were abandoned by those who were elected to serve and look out for them,” O’Rourke said. “It’s a symptom of a much larger problem we have in Texas right now: those in positions of public trust have stopped listening to, serving, and paying attention to, and trusting the people of Texas.”

The Democrat said the way Texans came together during the electrical crisis could be an example to pull away from the divisiveness of “extremist” policies leading political conversation in the state, including around abortion rights and gun laws.

“It’s a really small vision for such a big state. But it doesn’t have to be that way. And I know that together, we can get back to being big again,” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke ran against Ted Cruz for the US Senate in 2018, narrowly losing to the Republican incumbent. Credit: Beto O’Rourke via Storyful