AUSTIN, Texas — In launching his bid for Texas governor Monday, Beto O'Rourke seized on a number of campaign issues where he thinks Texans want new leadership.

“We have an extraordinary opportunity to help bring the people of Texas together,” O’Rourke said in an interview on Capital Tonight Monday. “We can do that and move past the divisiveness and the small politics of Greg Abbott, the failures of the grid, the pandemic response and some of these extreme laws around abortion and permitless carry and get back to the big things: jobs, schools and health care.”

The former El Paso Congressman, 2018 candidate for U.S. Senate and 2020 presidential contender noted he’s got an uphill battle to climb to beat incumbent Republican Gov. Abbott. Abbott’s already been campaigning against O'Rourke as too liberal for Texas. He's seized on multiple positions O'Rourke's taken, like requiring buybacks of assault weapons.

O’Rourke said he won’t change his stance on that issue for this campaign.

“I think most of us in Texas agree we shouldn’t have to worry about family members or friends or neighbors being shot up by a weapon that was originally designed for use on the battlefield,” he said in the interview. “And I think most of us will agree that what Greg Abbott has done in signing the permitless carry law has made us less safe.”

O’Rourke noted he grew up in a home with firearms and learned the responsibility of owning and handling a gun. The permitless carry law allows Texans to carry a handgun in public without going through training or having to get permits. 

“This state has four of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, all of which took place in last five years. I think people of Texas know we can do better,” O’Rourke, whose hometown of El Paso was the site of an anti-Latino mass shooting in 2019 by a gunman who killed 23 people, said.

O’Rourke hit Gov. Abbott over the power grid failures from February’s deadly winter storm, noting a $1 million donation Abbott got from Dallas pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren, whose company profited from it.

“Let’s make sure we’re focused on the people of Texas and not campaign contributors,” he said. “That explains how we got here. That explains why the governor’s done nothing meaningful to protect the grid heading into this winter. If I were governor I would make sure that we weatherize the complete power grid system. I would also ensure that we have the capacity like when we have high demand moments like during Winter Storm Uri. And then I would guarantee we are connected to the rest of the nation’s grid so when we need to draw down power to keep Texans alive, we can do that.”

While Gov. Abbott’s approval rating is the lowest it’s been since taking office, recent polling shows a majority of Texans have an unfavorable opinion of O’Rourke. He also faces an election cycle where the party in power typically struggles and President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are low in Texas.

“I’ve gotta stay focused on the people of Texas. These are the people who are going to decide the outcome of this next election,” O’Rourke said. “I’m confident that by going everywhere, writing no one off and listening to everyone, we can come together and do some of the big things the state needs at this point.”

Click the video link above to watch our full interview with O’Rourke.