A few days after announcing a record-breaking fundraising haul of nearly $30 million in the first half of 2022, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke hit the road in mid-July for an ambitious Texas barnstorming.
Seventy campaign events in over 65 counties, many in deep-red rural towns. Sweating through shirts in the dog days of a brutal summer. Rooms packed to the brim, preaching to and hearing from enemies, skeptics, and apostles alike. Polls indicating a tightening race. Sound familiar?
Unlike his 2018 Senate run, O’Rourke is no longer an unknown curiosity from far-flung El Paso. Tarnished by his own ill-advised presidential run and fighting unfavorable headwinds, his bid to deny Abbott a third term as governor is a steep one. But he can still muster some magic on the campaign trail. The Texas Observer caught up with him in Brenham, seat of firmly red Washington County, in early August to chat about abortion rights, immigration, and the path to power.
