Abby Livingston / The Texas Tribune
Saturday, April 03, 2021 | 06:00
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El Paso— After all, former US Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a native of El Paso, hasn’t ruled out a run for governor.
Earlier on Friday, The Dallas Morning News published comments that O’Rourke made during the recording of a morning show – which is not yet airing – which generated controversy among the Texas political class, as he suggested that he was no longer interested in running. for governor.
“I have no plans to run, and I’m very focused on the things that I am fortunate to do right now: organize, register voters and teach,” said O’Rourke, interviewed on the Lone Star Politics program, which airs Sunday. . “I am going to continue doing what I am doing now.”
Later, O’Rourke’s office staff quickly reached out to The Texas Tribune to clarify their opinion.
“What I said today is what I have been saying for months: I am not currently considering running for office. I am focused on what I am doing now (teaching and organizing), ”he said in a statement. “Nothing has changed and nothing I said would prevent me from considering a contest in the future.”
The El Paso Democrat flirted with a race earlier this year when he said in an interview that running against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott was “something I’m going to think about.” Last month, he fueled further rumors of his interest in the position when he resurfaced as an organizing force amid the winter storm in Texas.
He also served as a vocal critic of Abbott on various issues, including the winter storm, the 2019 mass shooting by a white supremacist in El Paso, and Abbott’s lifting of the state mandate to wear face masks.
O’Rourke is coming off a failed campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, and a narrow loss to US Senator Ted Cruz in 2018.
This year there will be no contest for the United States Senate, so who the Democrats nominate as the candidate for governor will have a huge impact on the election.
The Democratic Party concluded the 2020 elections with disappointed hopes, despite high expectations.
O’Rourke suggested other potential gubernatorial candidates in the television interview, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro is another frequently mentioned potential contender, and actor Matthew McConaughey, who lives in Austin, is also publicly considering a campaign.
“My plan right now is to run for reelection,” Hidalgo told Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith on his “Point of Order” podcast last month. When asked if he would rule out running for something else in 2022, he said: “I wouldn’t say it’s something I’m actively pursuing right now.”
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