The race for the next governor of Texas is getting heated, and Beto O’Rourke, one of the aspirants, brought his newly launched campaign for governor to the city of Dallas on Sunday, November 21.
While speaking at a parking lot in Fair Park, he urged Texans to reject the incumbent, Greg Abbott.
O’Rourke, who is running under the umbrella of the Democratic Party, told attendees that Gov. Abbott failed Texans during the winter storm that left millions without power and water last February.
“I am here because you inspire me,” O’Rourke told attendees at the parking lot in Fair Park. “When the power in this state [Texas] failed in February, and those in power failed all of us, we got to work. We got after it.”
“We put our differences behind us and we started knocking on doors, reaching out to our neighbors, inviting them into our own homes so they could get warm, have some water, have a bite to eat,” he continued. “Imagine if we had a governor in the state of Texas who felt that same way about the people that he serves.”
According to The Dallas Morning News, O’Rourke has made Abbott’s response to the winter storm a vital point in his campaign message since he got into the governor’s race.
O’Rourke told attendees that Texas’ electric grid had not been adequately fortified, and Abbott has spent so much time pushing divisive issues that matter little to most Texans, according to Dallas Morning News.
O’Rourke, an El Paso Democrat, also noted that he would repeal the new gun law that allows permitless carry in Texas, explaining the new law was enacted against the recommendations of law enforcement officials.
The Dallas Morning News and UT-Tyler conducted a poll in the days leading up to O’Rourke’s announcement, and the result was released on Sunday. The voter survey showed O’Rourke trailing Abbott by six percentage points.