Beto O’Rourke Loses the Governor’s Race
The Democrat concedes he had steep odds to overcome.
Beto O’Rourke lost his bid for the Governor’s race. The Democrat concedes that he had steep odds to overcome in his effort to unseat Greg Abbott. O’Rourke attacked Abbott on many issues. Among them is the recent Roe v Wade decision by the Supreme Court, which Abbott and state Republicans embraced. They quickly enacted laws that made legal abortion almost impossible in Texas.
Many Texans were outraged at the mass shooting at a Uvalde elementary school which left 19 children and two teachers dead last May. Abbott’s response to the tragedy was to make guns easier to get. O’Rourke insisted he would put common sense gun laws in place.
There was also the lingering memory of the 246 deaths that resulted from the state’s electrical grid failing in the winter of 2021. More than 4.2 million homes and businesses were without power, some for several days.
And many Texans were horrified to see Abbott target trans youth and their families for investigation by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Abbott termed gender-affirming care by parents as child abuse. Many in the TDFPS left the agency rather than participate in the investigations.
Despite O’Rourke’s efforts to call attention to these and other failings of the Republican Abbott, Texas voters in rural areas and smaller cities supported the incumbent.
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