O’Rourke unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2019. He also lost his bid for the U.S. Senate to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018. He was the congressman for the 16th Congressional District of Texas from 2013 to 2019.
Adams asked O’Rourke if he was thinking about challenging Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Yeah, you know what, it’s something I’m gonna think about,” O’Rourke said.
“This state has suffered perhaps more than any other in the midst of this pandemic, in the midst of the worst recession since the great depression.”
O’Rourke criticized Abbott’s handling of the pandemic and expressed sorrow over coronavirus-related deaths in El Paso, his hometown.
“So many people dying so quickly that you set up 10 mobile morgues,” O’Rourke said. “You have to call in the national guard to move the dead bodies and you have a complete indifference on the part of [Abbott] to what local leadership […] are trying to do to literally save the lives of the people in our lives.”
O’Rourke referenced El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, who was issuing lockdown orders as recently as November. On behalf of restaurant owners in El Paso County who are trying to make a living, the state has battled Samaniego’s measures to reduce infections.
In the interview, he also blasted Cruz for objecting to the presidential election results, repeating his call for Cruz to resign for “sedition.”
The former congressman is known in part for his support of gun confiscation.
“Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” he said during a presidential debate.
As early as June 2019, Abbott confirmed his intentions to run for reelection.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."