Beto O’Rourke announced that he will be running for Governor’s office in Texas, posing a challenge to incumbent Republican opponent Greg Abbott. The lone star state is known to be heavily tilted towards the GOP.

O’Rourke, a member of the Democratic party, stepped into the political arena of Texas as primary in the 2020 Presidential elections but later dropped out. This will be the 29-year-old’s third run for office.

“It is not going to be easy. But it is possible”, O’Rourke said in an interview with Associated Press ahead of announcing his candidacy. He added, “I do believe, very strongly, from listening to people in this state that they are very unhappy with the direction that Greg Abbott has taken Texas.”

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The Democratic candidate announced his run for office in a two-minute recorded video. He went on to denounce multiple policies of the Republican Party, accusing it of dismissing things that voters “actually agree on.” These issues agreed around legalisation of marijuana and expanding Medicare.

He said in a statement, “Those in positions of public trust have stopped listening to, serving and paying attention to the people of Texas”, according to reports from Associated Press.

O’Rourke is likely to kick off his gubernatorial campaign with a disadvantage. According to reports from Politico, citing a joint poll by the University of Texas and The Texas Tribune, Abbott had secured a 9% advantage already. 

Texas has been predominantly tilted towards conservative political ideas, at least that is what electoral history suggests. Former United States President Donald Trump beat Democratic opponent Joe Biden in 2020 elections with nearly a gap of 6% in Texas.

Ann Richards was the last Democrat politician to take the Governor’s office in 1990.