By: AB G

Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Current Governor Greg Abbott are currently running against each other in the 2022 Texas gubernatorial race.

Abbot has been the governor of Texas since 2015 but Beto O’Rourke might break his streak. O’Rourke served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas’s 16th congressional district for six years, 2013 to 2019.

This election is getting extremely expensive and both candidates are raising over 20 million dollars for their campaign. O’Rourke has already raised 27.6 million dollars about 3 million dollars more than Abbott who has raised 24.9 million dollars.

O’Rourke is on the Democratic side of this election while Abbott is on the Republican side of this election. There has not been a democratic governor in Texas in the past three decades and O’Rourke is going to try and change that. Although he has lost his last two elections for governor, hopes are high for him winning. “He has an amazing chance,” said Valerie Trujillo, a Pecos City Council member.

Two of O’Rourke’s main platform items are protecting abortion rights and implementing stricter gun laws. After the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, he feels that there should be some limits on guns because of how many kids and teachers died in that shooting. Many people in Texas are starting to feel like he is right and are considering voting for him.

Abbott wants to secure the border with his campaign. He wants to expand the security between Mexico and Texas and limit illegal immigration.

This battle between O’Rourke and Abbott is intense. This election will take place on Thursday, November 8th, 2022.

Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/us/texas-governor-campaign-abbott-orourke.html