Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, hasn’t even announced he’ll run for governor of Texas in 2022, but Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign clearly sees him as a potential challenger.

What You Need To Know

  • A new ad from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign targets former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke

  • O’Rourke has not announced a run for Texas governor in 2022 but it has been speculated that he’s considering it

  • A recent poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler has O’Rourke trailing Abbott by just five points

Abbott’s campaign on Thursday released a video ad called “Wrong Way O’Rourke.” The animated ad suggests that if O’Rouke were to be elected, illegal immigration would be rampant, Texans’ firearms would be confiscated, the state would convert to a single-payer health care system and the former congressman would support the expensive Green New Deal.

While he has yet to declare his candidacy, there is some evidence to suggest that O’Rourke, who has run for president as well as Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's seat, could pose a serious challenge to Abbott.

The results of a recent poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler have O’Rourke trailing Abbott by just five points.

That same poll has actor Matthew McConaughey leading Abbott by nine points. McConaughey hasn’t entered the race either.

O’Rourke has been critical of President Joe Biden’s handling of the uptick of illegal border crossings from Mexico into the U.S.

In an opinion column for El Paso Matters, the former congressman said the Biden administration should have predicted the surge and criticized its slow response to help migrants as well as the border cities in Texas. 

“We have diplomatic missions in each of these countries and an unrivaled global intelligence network,” O’Rourke said. “Immigration and undocumented border crossings have been a consistently pressing challenge for years. How could we not see this coming?”