Former congressman Beto O’Rourke is facing an uphill battle in his quest to unseat Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but he won’t be seeking the aid of the president as he campaigns across the state.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, the Democrat said the campaign he announced just last week is “not going to be about anyone from outside our state.”
O’Rourke may be seeking to distance himself from President Joe Biden, whose approval rating has dropped in recent weeks and whose immigration policies O’Rourke has criticized.
When pressed on the issue, O’Rourke indicated he has no intention of extending an invitation to Biden to help him campaign and doesn’t want national politics to color the Texas gubernatorial race.
“This campaign in Texas is not going to be about Joe Biden. It’s not going to be about Donald Trump,” O’Rourke said. “It’s not going to be about anyone from outside of our state. This is going to be about the people of Texas and what the people of Texas want. I’m focused on Texas and on my fellow Texans. Those are the people most important to me. There’s no politician, there’s no other person from outside of this state who can help change the course of this election, for better or for worse.”
In addition to comments about Biden, O’Rourke defended what he said in a 2019 debate about taking away people’s AR-15s and AK-47s but softened his tone somewhat. Gov. Abbott has seized on that statement in campaign ads targeting O’Rourke.
“We don’t want extremism in our gun law. We want to protect the Second Amendment, we want to protect the lives of our fellow Texans,” he said.
O’Rourke’s campaign has started in earnest, and so far he’s made stops in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Laredo, Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley. He’s slated to visit Abilene on Monday.
In addition, O’Rourke’s campaign reported he raised $2 million in the first 24 hours of his run for governor.
As of the end of June, Gov. Abbott had $55 million in cash on hand, according to a report from the Texas Tribune.
According to the results of a new poll from the Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler, Abbott currently holds a 6-point lead over O’Rourke. A total 45% of voters polled indicated they would vote for Abbott and 39% indicated they back O’Rourke. Sixteen percent said they would back a different candidate for governor.
In addition to running for president in 2020, O’Rourke in 2018 came within 3 points of unseating Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, setting a record for the most votes for a Democrat in Texas history.