Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke will embark on a 49-day tour around the state of Texas as he challenges Republican Governor Greg Abbott.

O’Rourke will hold 70 public events in more than 65 counties as part of the tour. The gubernatorial hopeful will begin the journey on July 19 in his hometown of El Paso before reaching every region of the state, including some of the most sparsely populated areas.

More than a dozen of the candidate’s planned stops will be in South Texas, where Republicans have made inroads in recent years with the large population of Spanish-speaking voters. O’Rourke will also make stops in every major city in the state and some of the tiniest towns, including Marathon in far West Texas and Spearman in the Panhandle.

“We are going to bring people together in every part of this state to overcome Abbott’s extremism, incompetence, cruelty, and corruption and focus on the big things that unite us: great jobs, world-class schools, the ability to see a doctor and lowering costs so every Texan can live to their full potential,” O’Rourke said in a statement.

O’Rourke, a former congressman who nearly defeated Republican Senator Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate election before unsuccessfully running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, is no stranger to long treks across the state.

During his 2018 Senate run, he visited all of the state’s 254 counties. O’Rourke has also said he plans to repeat that feat during his campaign for governor.

Gov. Abbott spent plenty of time campaigning ahead of the March primary when he faced a handful of primary challengers further to his right, but he has not held many campaign events since then.

It remains to be seen how much time Abbott will spend campaigning while O’Rourke embarks on his latest campaign journey.

“The governor is continuing to run the state, the economic engine that is running the country, and aggressively campaign for reelection,” Abbott campaign communications director Mark Miner told Fox News.

Last month, his campaign flexed its significant financial advantage over the challenger by announcing plans to spend an initial sum of nearly $20 million on advertising.

Polls consistently show the governor holding a mid to high single-digit lead over O’Rourke. In a Texas Politics Project poll from July 6, 45% of respondents indicated they would vote for Abbott, compared to 39% for O’Rourke.

The last Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Texas was Ann Richards in 1990.