BETO O'ROURKE

Running for governor, Democrat Beto O'Rourke said in a November rally that 70% of Texas fourth graders cannot read at grade level. Is he right?

O'Rourke came after Abbott on rising electric bills, among other hot-button issues.

During his San Antonio visit, O'Rourke answered media questions staying focused on two main issues — the power grid and voting rights.

AUSTIN (AP) — Money is pouring fast into the Texas governor's race headlined by Republican Gov.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Money is pouring fast into the Texas governor’s race headlined by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

The latest fundraising figures in the governor’s race confirm what’s long been seen as the state of play: O’Rourke is a strong fundraiser, but Abbott, with over $65 million saved up, is on another level.

The Democratic challenger, branded as too liberal for Texas by the Abbott campaign, seeks to shift the issues to COVID response and a reliable grid.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s openness to marijuana decriminalization shows that the state, while conservative, isn’t immune to larger trends.

Abbott said the suicides are being investigated and thinks it will come out that not all “actually occurred during Operation Lone Star.”

The two-term Republican governor likely faces off against a Democratic challenger. Watch as we go behind the scenes.

Medicaid expansion would insure many more Texans and bring billions of federal dollars. But, the effect to the state's economy would be even greater.

The Republican governor officially announced his reelection campaign Saturday in McAllen, while likely Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke campaigned in El Paso.

Republicans including former state Sen. Don Huffines of Dallas and former Texas GOP chair Allen West are challenging Abbott for the Republican nomination.

What the candidates in 2022 can learn, and what should they avoid, as they enter yet another campaign cycle under the shadow of COVID.

Next year, every state official and every member of the Texas Legislature and Congress are up for election. That makes for a big year in Texas politics.

Abbott vetoed legislation in June that would have helped shore up the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications in rural Texas. He said it would have “imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.”

From the Texas Standard to the Texas Capitol?

The poll surveyed more than 1,200 Texas registered voters.

Republican leaders defend their record on the power grid, pointing to more than a dozen laws passed during this year’s legislative session to address the grid’s reliability. Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his reputation on a promise that the lights won't go out this winter.

After months of speculation, Oscar-winning actor calls bid for governorship a "humbling and inspiring path to ponder," but one he's "choosing not to take at this moment."

The actor said in a video Sunday that “political leadership” is a “path that I’m choosing not to take at this moment.”

Months after mulling a run for governor of Texas, actor Matthew McConaughey says a decision is coming “shortly.”

O’Rourke has ground to make up after his own underwhelming performance with voters there in 2018 when he ran for U.S. Senate — and turning out more Latino voters has long been key to Democratic hopes statewide.

This is one weird poll.

In this week's episode, Matthew talks with Cassie, James and Patrick about the early days of the Beto O'Rourke campaign and how the rest of the 2022 ballot is shaping up.

The 2022 race for Texas governor is under way. But the contours of the contest between Beto O'Rourke and Greg Abbott have been months in the making.

The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the state’s electorate grows more diverse.

O'Rourke faces an even more formidable fundraiser in Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. He had $55 million cash on hand at the end of June.

Sneaking up on a bruised Ted Cruz and almost winning the 2018 U.S. Senate race made Beto O’Rourke a big political name. But after that loss and a poor showing in the 2020 Democratic primary for president, the El Pasoan’s challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott is a different kind of contest.

O’Rourke hit the campaign trail with a pitch narrowly focused on several issues that are largely popular with voters, leaving behind the more incendiary rhetoric from his presidential campaign.

San Antonio was among his first stops.

El Pasoans who have followed O’Rourke’s political career are excited about his run for governor. But his critics still remember his support of a development plan that could have displaced Mexican American residents from one of the city’s oldest barrios.

O'Rourke's announcement kicks off a third run for office in as many election cycles.

The El Paso Democrat and gubernatorial candidate plans several campaign stops that include Corpus Christi, Abilene, Houston and San Antonio.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will be at a press conference Monday morning hours after former Congressman Beto O’Rourke announced his bid for the governor’s office.

Naturally, Ted Cruz trolled him.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke is running for governor of Texas.

O’Rourke joins the 2022 gubernatorial race as Texas’ best-known Democrat, but he carries considerably more baggage after a series of political failures, including his bids for U.S. Senate and president. This time, instead of riding a blue wave nationally, he’ll be fighting a red one.

O’Rourke’s decision to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott ends months of speculation and gives Democrats a formidable campaigner at the top of the ticket — someone who transformed Texas politics with his blockbuster campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.

Will he or won't he? O'Rourke continues teasing a run for governor.

Until recently, the conversion about the Texas' 2022 statewide slate appeared limited to White men.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Patrick, Reese and Neelam about Tuesday’s special election results, poll numbers in the governor’s race and oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court over Texas’ abortion law.

Voters aren't as starry-eyed about McConaughey in this new poll.

Well, this campaign is going to be cheery...

Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans.

Just tell us already!

Texas Republicans are trying to shore up their slipping dominance in America’s biggest red state with redrawn voting maps.

Will Beto rebrand his stance on assault weapons? Can he repeat his 2018 fundraising prowess? Here are issues likely to shape the 2022 campaign.

In a Texas Tribune Festival interview, the former member of Congress discussed the fight for voting rights, his takeaways from his last two runs for office and speculation about his becoming a candidate for governor.

Remarks come after a poll put the actor ahead of Gov. Abbott.

The waning support for Gov. Greg Abbott could open the door for two Texans in the race for governor: Actor Matthew McConaughey and Democrat Beto O’Rourke, according to a recent poll.

Beto O'Rourke lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz by three points in 2018.

McConaughey leads Abbott in Texas poll as O'Rourke inches closer

Democrats haven't won statewide in Texas since 1994. Their troubles won't end until they break that losing streak.

Nelson helped close out the rally with a short set, which included the 88-year-old's 2018 song, "Vote 'Em Out."

The Red Headed Stranger is serious about voting rights.

The marchers will travel south from Georgetown to Austin over four days, hoping to build pressure on Congress to act on federal legislation to boost or safeguard access to voting. They will end with a Saturday morning rally at the Capitol.

If Teas Democrats lose the short-term fight over the GOP-backed elections bill, look for them to prepare the ground for more political battles in the future.

Texas Republicans have advanced bills that would make voting harder in a state that already has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions after hundreds spoke against the proposals.

Some Texas Democrats say they're ready to stage a second walkout to again stop one of America’s most restrictive voting measures.

The possibility of Texas Democrats staging a second walkout to again stop one of America's most restrictive new voting measures grew louder Saturday, as hundreds of people waited hours to rail against the GOP's plan in the largest turnout this year at the state Capitol. As Republicans made clear they intended this weekend to advance a new election bill — which would prohibit 24-hour polling places, ban drop boxes and stop drive-thru voting — some Democrats who broke quorum in May are now describing it as their best, if not only, option again. Texas is among several states with GOP-controlled statehouses where Republicans have rushed to enact strict voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

The one-time presidential candidate from El Paso said he would support more quorum-busting efforts by Texas Democrats to block a GOP elections bill.

The eye-popping fundraising numbers sends a message that the Republican governor is taking no chances in his bid for a third term next year.

Former Florida Congressman Allen West says he’ll challenge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the Republican nomination next year.

Gov. Abbott's plans to build a border wall gets generally favorable reviews, a new poll shows.

Matthew McConaughey has the best favorability numbers of any potential Texas gubernatorial challenger

“Whatever Beto decides to do is the domino that affects everybody," said Royce Brooks, executive director of Annie’s List, the Texas Democratic women-in-politics group.

"Why should we have to be cornered? Why should we have to feel guilty, like we have to prove we are innocent? America is bigger than that"

O'Rourke has visited at least 19 cities this month and plans to hold a final rally Sunday at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke is offering to bus people from San Antonio and other cities to a Sunday voting-rights rally at the Texas Capitol, saying...

Here's a time to rally for voting rights.

They have delayed the passage of a GOP-sponsored voting bill.

Will he or won't he?

Rep. Travis Clardy claimed on NPR that the line in Senate Bill 7 limiting Sunday voting after 1 pm was meant to say 11 am instead.

Democrats pulled an unprecedented move to defeat the bill for now, but Texas Republicans are likely to bring it back up in a special session.

Former Texas congressman and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is contemplating a new political decision.

San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich isn't dialing back his support for police accountability. A day after San Antonio voters narrowly defeated Proposition B, a...

Buddy was found injured and burned last week.

Fix SAPD thanked O'Rourke for his support.

LAREDO — The placid skies and balmy, springtime heat in South Texas made waiting outdoors tolerable on a recent Saturday this April. Around midday, about...

<figcaption> Beto O'Rourke recently organized a block walking event in the political battleground of South Texas as people wonder if he'll run for governor in 2022. <cite>Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune</cite> </figcaption>

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke has not ruled out a run for governor after all.

<figcaption> Then-presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke delivers a campaign address in El Paso on Aug. 15, 2019. <cite>Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune</cite> </figcaption>

The ranks of big corporations now criticizing GOP efforts to restrict voting access are spreading to Texas.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Proposed legislation before the GOP-led state Senate and House mirrors a nationwide campaign by Republicans that aims to restrict voting even more, with rules Democrats say disenfranchise racial and ethnic minorities. AdAmy Litzinger, of Austin, is among Texans who say the very health issues keeping her from testifying before lawmakers in person will also penalize her if stricter voting legislation becomes law. Brian Kemp drew protests Thursday when he signed into law a sweeping GOP-sponsored overhaul of state elections — and the fights will undoubtedly end up in the courts. AdBack in Austin, Jose Colon Uvalles was back at the Capitol again Friday to advocate against voting restrictions.

Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Acacia Coronado)AUSTIN, Texas – A procedural gaffe on Thursday forced the abrupt end of a Texas House hearing on a Republican-backed voting restrictions bill and at least temporarily deprived more than 100 people of the chance to testify about it, including some who said they had driven hundreds of miles to be there. The bungled end to the hearing stunned an overflow room of people who had waited hours to address lawmakers, including some who said they had traveled for hours to speak against the measure known as House Bill 6. That Democrat was state Rep. Nicole Collier, the chairwoman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. “Any delay is good," said Emily Eby, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project who had traveled from Houston for the hearing.

The Austin-based actor Matthew McConaughey is again making headlines for flirting with a run for Texas governor — and this time he says he is serious about the possibility. And he has declined to say whether he would run as a Democrat, a Republican or something else. In the book, McConaughey did include a handful of glimpses at the politics he was around growing up. AdSome interviewers have specifically asked McConaughey if he would run as a Democrat or a Republican — or something else — and he has not played ball. In the same interview, McConaughey offered a more direct position on another hot-button issue — gun control — saying it is "too easy to get a gun sometimes, that there should be that background check."

Some Texans wondering if Beto O'Rourke is eyeing 2022 run for Texas governor Some Texas leaders are facing criticism after a major winter storm left millions of Texans without power, water, or heat. Meanwhile, former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke was raising money for storm victims and delivering water to hard hit areas, leaving some to wonder if he's eyeing a run for governor in 2022. Abby Livingston, the Washington bureau chief for The Texas Tribune, joins CBSN to discuss the chances that O'Rourke runs and the challenges he might face.

Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke is making sure San Antonians are OK after the unprecedented winter storm that hit Texas last week. O'Rourke launched a San Antonio Wellness Check Canvass, in which volunteers knock on doors throughout the city to check if residents need food, water or assistance with repairs. On Sunday, O'Rourke joined Precinct 2 Bexar County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez as he knocked on doors on the West Side of San Antonio. "She runs the St. Phocus community garden, supplying fresh produce for one of San Antonio's food deserts," O'Rourke tweeted. Volunteers will knock on doors in their community anytime between noon and 6 p.m. To sign up for San Antonio, click here.

"Team AOC is launching relief efforts for Texas starting today," Ocasio-Cortez tweet on Thursday, linking to the fundraising page. "Our first effort is a partnership w/ 5 Texas orgs getting on-the-ground relief to Texans ASAP. Our Texas relief mobilization has already raised $325k for food, housing, elder care & direct relief straight to vulnerable Texans. The congresswoman then gave donors an incentive to give: "I feel like I should do something if we hit $1M in Texas relief. Castro did his own fundraising, surpassing $100,000 for Feeding Texas food banks, he tweeted.

The Texas grid failure that's left millions struggling without power in freezing conditions has ignited a feud between Democrats and the GOP over Republicans' decades-long oversight of the energy industry and prompted calls for a system more resilient to extreme weather conditions. Texas has avoided federal regulation by establishing its own power grid that's nearly cut off from the rest of the country — an isolated system that conservatives in power have long praised. "Going back to the deregulation of our electricity grid in Texas, which has created an incentive to actually not weatherize or protect against these events." "The energy capital of North America cannot provide enough energy to warm and power people's homes," O'Rourke continued. "We are nearing a failed state in Texas.

Credit: The Texas TribuneEditor's note: If you'd like an email notice whenever we publish Ross Ramsey's column, click here. Greg Abbott in the 2022 election. But it’s always campaign season in Texas. Abbott had his opening shot ready to go, recalling the Democrat’s support for an assault weapon buyback program during the 2020 presidential race. AdBut in O’Rourke’s only statewide race in Texas — he dropped out of the presidential race before the Texas primaries last year — he was a formidable, if losing, candidate.

Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso. The two traded criticisms Thursday as speculation mounts over whether O'Rourke will challenge Abbott in 2022. Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke butted heads Thursday after the Democraticformer El Paso congressman said he would consider challenging the Republican incumbent for Texas' top elected post in 2022. "Heck yes, he’s for open borders. Heck yes, he’s for killing the energy sector and fossil fuels in the state of Texas.

Greg Abbott, left, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso. The two traded criticisms Thursday as speculation mounts over whether O’Rourke will challenge Abbott in 2022. Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke butted heads Thursday after the Democratic former El Paso congressman said he would consider challenging the Republican incumbent for Texas' top elected post in 2022. "Heck yes, he’s for open borders. Heck yes, he’s for killing the energy sector and fossil fuels in the state of Texas.

As the hour slipped past 2 a.m. on the East Coast, Democrat Raphael Warnock beat Republican Kelly Loeffler. King and MSNBC's Kornacki dominated their networks with headache-inducing number crunching. Warnock and Ossoff jumped to early leads, but as more votes came in, the Republicans swung in front. After midnight, the Times judged both Warnock and Ossoff had a better than 95% chance of winning. Fox News spent less time on raw numbers to showcase their prime-time stars, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham.

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State University hired a new adjunct professor to teach a Texas politics class who has strong name ID. Grasso responded that the former Texas congressman would be teaching PS 4325, Texas Politics, via a remote learning platform — Zoom. Did the coronavirus impact any hiring at Texas State? Texas State issued the following statement to KSAT regarding O’Rourke’s hiring:“Our goal at Texas State is to provide our students with a well-rounded academic experience. Read Texas State’s communication with O’Rourke in full below:Related: Beto O’Rourke to teach politics at Texas State University in 2021, report says

“There is no exaggeration here, the Texas state House is the key to future power in America. Holder's group has given money to 261 state legislative candidates who could influence redistricting in 11 states. Democrats are being countered financially by the Republican State Leadership Committee, which also coordinated the GOP's successful effort a decade ago. But Democrats need to flip just nine seats to take control of the state House for the first time since 2002. “If we flip the Texas House, redistricting is coming up!

Ann Grannan puts a flag on her car before a Ridin' With Biden event Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020, in Plano, Texas. Democrats in Texas are pressing Joe Biden to make a harder run at Texas with less than three weeks until Election Day. (AP Photo/LM Otero)AUSTIN, Texas – The whispers about Texas are picking up again. “They've stuck their toes in the water and they figured out that it's pretty warm,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, the longtime chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. And Texas is just one Sun Belt state where Biden is making an unusual late push.

Since former Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s near-upset victory against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 and his short-lived presidential run, political observers have wondered what his next move would be. But on Thursday night, the University Star reported that O’Rourke is expected to teach politics at Texas State University in San Marcos in 2021. Based on the situation on campus next year, Grasso told the paper O’Rourke could theoretically teach face-to-face on campus. Texas State is among the largest public universities in the state and has been recognized as a Hispanic-serving institution. “I don’t know that so much it’s going to increase enrollments; it’ll certainly increase visibility,” Grasso told the Star.

(Bob Daemmrich/Nexstar/KXAN via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – Buoyed by massive fundraising success, Democratic Senate candidates are mounting a push in Republican states that few would have thought possible just a few months ago, placing continued GOP control of the chamber at risk. MJ Hegar in Texas reported raising over $13 million during the same period for her race against Republican Sen. John Cornyn. In deep-red Kentucky, Amy McGrath has posted strong fundraising numbers against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In Mississippi, Mike Espy reported raising $4 million in his rematch against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. O'Rourke was criticized for being too stingy with his cash, only reluctantly aiding other Democrats, though he eventually donated large amounts to the Texas Democratic Party.