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Susan Calvin

(1,644 posts)
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:20 AM Nov 2021

Beto O'Rourke says he's running for Texas governor

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by JudyM (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Texas Tribune

Beto O’Rourke is running for governor, challenging Republican Greg Abbott in a clash of two of Texas’ biggest politicians.

“I’m running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott,” O’Rourke said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. “It is time for change.”

The former El Paso congressman, 2018 U.S. Senate nominee and 2020 presidential contender said he was running for governor to improve public schools, health care and jobs in Texas. But O’Rourke also took sharp aim at Abbott’s record, citing new laws he backed this year that ban most abortions in Texas, tighten voting rules and allow permitless carry of handguns. He also criticized Abbott over the February power grid failure that left most of the state without electricity in subfreezing temperatures and his response to the coronavirus pandemic that has recently been focused on fighting vaccine and mask mandates.


Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/11/15/beto-orourke-texas-governor-2022/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=aed08178ed-trib-newsletters-breaking-alert&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d9a68d8efc-aed08178ed-102588729&mc_cid=aed08178ed&mc_eid=07a5a9056b

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Beto O'Rourke says he's running for Texas governor (Original Post) Susan Calvin Nov 2021 OP
NYT just did a breaking as well as WaPo BumRushDaShow Nov 2021 #1
Yay! Now the hard work really begins. Lonestarblue Nov 2021 #2
It will be an uphill climb, after two unsuccessful bids for office in a row. PatrickforB Nov 2021 #4
Make Texas Blue Again IronLionZion Nov 2021 #3
Glad to see it but he will have a real uphill battle dutch777 Nov 2021 #5
Locking JudyM Nov 2021 #6

BumRushDaShow

(127,263 posts)
1. NYT just did a breaking as well as WaPo
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:26 AM
Nov 2021
Beto O’Rourke Announces Run for Texas Governor, Testing Democrats’ Strength

Mr. O’Rourke’s announcement on Monday sets the stage for a pitched political showdown over the future of the country’s largest Republican-led state.


By J. David Goodman
Nov. 15, 2021, 9:12 a.m. ET

HOUSTON — Beto O’Rourke entered the race for Texas governor on Monday, challenging an ultraconservative and well-financed two-term Republican incumbent in a long-shot bid to win an office Democrats last occupied in 1995. The arrival of Mr. O’Rourke immediately set the stage for a pitched political showdown next November over the future of Texas at a time when the state — with its expanding cities and diversifying population — has appeared increasingly up for grabs.

Mr. O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has been a darling of Texas Democrats and party activists since his run against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018. Though he lost the Senate race by nearly 3 percentage points, the fact that Mr. O’Rourke came close to unseating the incumbent Republican senator transformed Mr. O’Rourke into a national figure and convinced many Democrats that the state was on the cusp of turning blue.

His campaign hopes to rekindle that enthusiasm as it attempts to unseat the Republican governor seeking re-election to a third term, Greg Abbott. One recent public poll found Mr. O’Rourke nearly tied with Mr. Abbott in a hypothetical match up, and another showed him losing by nine. “Those in positions of public trust have stopped listening to, serving and paying attention to — and trusting — the people of Texas,” Mr. O’Rourke said in a video announcing his campaign that was released on Monday.

He contrasted the “extremist policies” of Texas Republicans that have limited abortion and expanded gun rights with positions that he said he would support, including expanding Medicaid and legalizing marijuana.And the video sought to recapture the anger felt by Texans when the state’s power grid failed in February. “It’s a symptom of a much larger problem that we have in Texas right now,” he said. But Democrats have also seen their story of political change in Texas complicated by the results of the 2020 election.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/us/politics/beto-orourke-texas-governor-announcement.html


Lonestarblue

(9,874 posts)
2. Yay! Now the hard work really begins.
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:34 AM
Nov 2021

It will be an uphill battle to defeat Abbott in spite of all his failures, as a governor and a human being. Here are some statistics from the 2020 election.

Registered Voters 16,955,519
Voting Age Population (VAP) 21,596,071
Percentage of VAP Registered 78.51%
Turnout 11,315,056
Percent of Turnout to Registered 66.73%
Percent of Turnout to VAP 52.39%

I believe the key to a Beto win lies with younger voters. For the last year, Beto’s group has been focusing on registering voters, including on college campuses. Texas has a close to even divide between rural voters and urban voters. So far, the rural voters have carried the day, perhaps because many of them are older and more reliable voters. Democrats need a strong message here and a social media campaign that reaches younger voters.

PatrickforB

(14,514 posts)
4. It will be an uphill climb, after two unsuccessful bids for office in a row.
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:54 AM
Nov 2021

He may have difficulty finding donors, except small ones like us, and might have trouble getting big-name endorsements.

We'll see...I will donate.

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
3. Make Texas Blue Again
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:42 AM
Nov 2021

dutch777

(2,866 posts)
5. Glad to see it but he will have a real uphill battle
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 10:54 AM
Nov 2021

I have formulated a theory that Repugs like Abbott and DeSantis win in purple states because of one issue voters. Be it gun rights, anti-abortion, lower taxes, less government or a blind eye to racism and discrimination, it seems some voters will pull the R lever over just one of these issues, no matter how all the rest of the issues and D policy proposals-- like better schools, improved health care, etc. are more in their long term interests.

JudyM

(29,122 posts)
6. Locking
Mon Nov 15, 2021, 11:24 AM
Nov 2021

Dupe of https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142826952

Please continue discussion in that thread.

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