Beto O’Rourke confronts a formidable GOP firewall as he woos rural Texans

Gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke speaks to attendees at a town hall in Abilene on Aug. 16, 2022.

Now, running for governor four years later, O’Rourke is confronting the same challenge all over again. O’Rourke lost to Cruz by roughly 215,000 votes overall. He bested Cruz in the counties that make up bigger cities and suburbs, but he lost by a total of about 441,000 in rural Texas, eclipsing his advantage in the rest of Texas.

Undeterred, O’Rourke has been especially visible in rural Texas during his latest 49-day barnstorm of the state that started in August, visiting places like Quanah, just outside the Panhandle near the Oklahoma border, and Junction, one of the last stops on Interstate 10 on the way before entering remote West Texas. Both places are home to less than 3,000 people.

“Most people are going to hold their nose and vote with their wallet this election cycle,” Van Ness said. “I figured the Roe v. Wade decision would’ve shot Beto’s popularity way up, but it seems people are way more worried about the costs of everything going up.” “My goal is to recognize, galvanize, and mobilize rural Texans to keep the Lone Star State red,” Patrick wrote in an email to supporters about the bus tour as it got underway.

The issue of vouchers has always been thorny in rural Texas, generating opposition from GOP state lawmakers there who are fiercely protective of their public schools. But the party’s primary voters overwhelmingly approved a pro-voucher ballot proposition in November, including in rural counties, and an August survey found voters statewide supported the concept by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

When it comes to guns, O’Rourke has found a useful foil in Abbott, saying that his positions are so extreme that even the most ardent gun enthusiasts disagree with him. He has also sought to contrast with Abbott that way on another issue that has captured headlines this summer: abortion rights.

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