At the Texas Democratic Party Convention in Dallas on Friday, gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke sought to rally voters ahead of his November challenge against incumbent Governor Greg Abbott.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to do this,” he said. “I ask you to keep the faith, keep up the fight, and let’s get out here and get out there and go win this thing.”

O’Rourke went after Abbott for the state’s power grid failure during the 2021 winter storm, his directives targeting the families of transgender children, the decision not to expand Medicaid in the state, and for not supporting anti-gun measures in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting. 

Beto also criticized the governor’s border mission, Operation Lone Star. O’Rourke also called for more money for public education and to restore abortion access in the state.

“Imagine a governor who, instead of attacking teachers, supports them, pays them enough, so they don’t have to work a 2nd or 3rd job, just to make ends meet. Imagine a governor who will fix the grid by winterizing and weatherizing it. By connecting ERCOT to the national grid, by investing in energy efficiency and lowering your utility bills,” Beto said. 

“Greg Abbott is chaos. He is corrupt. He is cruelty and he is incompetent, but he is not Texas, and he is not us,” he continued. 

“It will be an even greater honor with your hard work, effort, and persistence and with your courage in the face of these attacks to lead this state as the next governor of the great state of Texas,” added O’Rourke.

Polls in the race have consistently shown O’Rourke trailing Abbott by mid to high single digits. Abbott leads Beto by 5 points in a recent Hobby School of Public Affairs poll.

On Friday, former Republican State Representative and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen held a press conference in Dallas to counter the Democratic Convention. He attacked O’Rourke, labeling him too liberal for Texas.

“Beto is, I think, a decent man, but he can’t pick a position,” Bonnen said. “It’s one of his real challenges in life. He can’t decide whether he wants to be a United States senator, president, or governor. And the truth of it is, the reason he can’t be any of those things is because his liberal, socialist policies don’t fit the voters of Texas.”

O’Rourke entered the convention with momentum. His campaign announced in a press release Friday that Beto allegedly raised $27.63 million between February 20 and June 30, the most ever for a statewide candidate in Texas in one reporting period. Over the same period, Abbott raised $24.9 million.

Abbott does still have a significant cash on hand advantage, with the governor’s campaign confirming it had $45.7 million cash on hand as of June 30. O’Rourke has yet to file his campaign finance report that was due on Friday, July 15.

The Democratic challenger to Ken Paxton for the attorney general’s seat, Rochelle Garza, said Beto’s fundraising success indicates the party is gaining traction in the state. 

“We need investment across the board for candidates in Texas,” Garza told The Dallas Express in an interview.” I know folks think that Texas can’t be won, but it absolutely can because the numbers are showing us that I’m within three points of unseating Ken Paxton with likely voters, this is a huge sign that people are ready for something new, something better.”

O’Rourke will aim to keep the momentum from the fundraising haul, as on Tuesday, he begins his 49-day tour of Texas, with more than 70 campaign events in more than 65 counties.