With few other options, Texas Democrats need Beto ORourke to challenge GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 – The Dallas Morning News

With few other viable options, Texas Democrats are hoping that next year former Rep. Beto ORourke challenges Republican incumbent Greg Abbott for governor.

The El Paso Democrat is considering running for governor, saying that Abbott has failed Texas during the pandemic. He later criticized his handling of the February winter storm that left millions of Texans without power and water. That has fueled speculation that ORourke is all but in the governors race, even though hes just as likely to opt against the underdog campaign.

Its very hard for us to recruit candidates right now, when you have somebody looking like hes going to run, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told me last week. Right now were just taking a wait and see attitude on this thing.

Hinojosa didnt rule out former U.S. Housing Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julin Castro as a potential candidate, even though Castro has already opted against running in 2022.

Beto is out there. Julins out there. Im figuring one of them is going to run, Hinojosa said. We should know pretty soon.

Texas Democrats need ORourke because they have no one else who can beat Abbott, a well-known political figure with a huge campaign fund and formidable grassroots army. ORourke would also be likely to lose to Abbott, but would give Democrats a credible candidate who can raise money, develop and deploy a volunteer army and for the first time since 2014 force Abbott to focus on his reelection bid, instead of using his considerable resources to help down-ballot Republicans.

It would be a race worth watching, and Abbott has already taken a swipe at ORourke, pointing out that as a presidential contender he pledged to confiscate assault weapons.

Politicians from the federal level to the local level have shouted: Heck yes, the government is coming to get your guns, Abbott said of the one-time presidential contender. We wont let that happen in Texas.

But Democrats might have to challenge Abbott with another, lesser-known nominee.

The filing deadline is in December and ORourke hasnt put together a campaign team. Hes been teaching at Texas State University, and though hell help the Democratic Partys effort to upend Abbott, he may not want to risk a third high-profile defeat in four years.

Cruzs seat is up in 2024, and ORourke could be contemplating another run for Senate. That race could feature Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, since Cruz might run for president instead of reelection. In 2018 Cruz beat ORourke by 2.6 percentage points.

Whatever the scenario, Democrats may be forced to shape a 2022 statewide ticket without their partys best statewide candidate.

Democrats arent without political stars, but most of them are still rising and are unknown to most Texans.

In Congress, Reps. Colin Allred of Dallas, Veronica Escobar of El Paso and Joaquin Castro of San Antonio are all considered blue chippers. Allred and Escobar arent ready to give up congressional seats for a statewide run. Castro considered running for governor or attorney general in 2018. Hes also expected to stay in Congress.

North Texas contenders currently in the Texas Legislature include state Sens. Royce West of Dallas and Beverly Powell of Burleson, along with state Rep. Raphael Anchia of Dallas. West was the runner-up to Round Rock Democrat MJ Hegar for the Democratic Party Senate nomination. Hes not expected to run statewide in 2022. Anchia has been cautious about challenging statewide. Powell could be an option for a number of statewide races, but like many Democrats in office, is unknown to voters outside of her district.

Elsewhere, former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, who ran for Senate in 2020, could be a contender for lieutenant governor against incumbent Dan Patrick or attorney general against incumbent Ken Paxton. Shes not expected to challenge Abbott.

Other contenders for governor include former 2020 Senate candidate and labor activist Cristina Tzintzn Ramirez.

On the local government front, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is getting rave reviews and is seen as a future candidate for higher office, but campaigning against Abbott is likely too much too soon.

Matthew McConaughey is teasing a run for governor, but Democrats are not banking on the actor being their great hope.

No matter the options, Democrats have to put their muscle behind a credible candidate.

After failing to win the Texas House or a statewide contest in 2020, it was unclear if Democrats would invest much political treasure in seriously challenging Abbott, the Goliath who has not come close to losing a statewide race.

Democrats and others have slammed Abbott and the GOP leadership for not making sure that the Texas power delivery system was prepared for the ferocious winter storm that crippled the state.

Now Democrats have to challenge Abbott in earnest, or appear not ready for prime time.

For Democrats, Its Beto or bust.

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With few other options, Texas Democrats need Beto ORourke to challenge GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 - The Dallas Morning News