CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas gubernatorial candidate Robert “Beto” O’Rourke plans a visit to Corpus Christi on Thursday as one of his first trips in his nascent campaign.
O’Rourke’s campaign has announced that he’ll host an event here at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at a location to be announced.
According to his office, O’Rourke will hear about the challenges of Corpus Christi residents under Gov. Greg Abbott’s leadership.
O’Rourke, 49, made his announcement on social media Monday morning that he will challenge Abbott, who will be seeking a third term in 2022.
“Those in position of public trust have stopped listening to, serving, and paying attention to and trusting the people of Texas,” O’Rourke said. “And so they are not focused on the things we really want them to do. like making sure we have a functioning electricity grid or that we are creating the best jobs in America right here in Texas.”
O’Rourke ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018, nearly defeating incumbent Ted Cruz.
The El Paso native also had an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2020.
Abbott, 64, spoke of O’Rourke’s challenge during an event in San Antonio on Monday.
“If you look at issue after issue after issue that Beto campaigned on for the Presidency of the United States, they weren't just at odds with Texans, they were hostile to Texans,” Abbott said.
Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat as governor since Ann Richards beat Clayton Williams in 1990.
