With the primary elections still four months away, it appears the race for Texas Governor will come down to incumbent Republican Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke. Widely rumored to be a candidate, O’Rourke finally announced his candidacy this week.
Governor Abbott has been challenged on his right flank by two formidable, if not well known Republican primary opponents. Former State Senator Don Huffines and former head of the Texas Republican party Allen West. Both have taken the position that Governor Abbott is not conservative enough to lead Texas. Their presence in the Republican field pushed the Governor to increase his commitment to border security, allocating more resources and promising to complete the border wall in Texas. Abbott is also being criticized for not being tough enough in his opposition to vaccine and mask mandates. He did not call a fourth special session when bills opposing both did not pass in the third session.
O’Rourke will of course be tied to the national Democratic party, especially the more liberal wing. The Texas Tribune reported that the Governor said that O’Rourke was really not so much a Democrat as a Socialist, labeling him as a part of the Ocasio-Cortez wing of the Democrat party. During his unsuccessful run for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, O’Rourke proclaimed on national TV “hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47”. O’Rourke has said he will not back down from his anti-assault weapon position in his run for Governor.
Fund raising should not be a problem for either candidate. O’Rourke raised $80 million for his campaign against Senator Ted Cruz. He raised $2 million in the first 24 hours after announcing his candidacy for Governor. Governor Abbott is reported to have $55 million on hand and has always been known as a successful fundraiser. Turnout, as usual, will be crucial.
Barring some major gaff or windfall, or the entry of Matthew McConaughey into the race, we should be in for a slugfest of a campaign for the next year until the general election in November of 2022.