Republican stronghold: US Democrat O'Rourke wants to become governor of Texas

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Beto O'Rourke: He tried to become the new governor of Texas in 2018

Photo: LM Otero / AP

The US Democrat Beto O'Rourke wants to apply for the post of governor in his home state of Texas.

O'Rourke announced his candidacy for the November 2022 election on Monday in a video clip on Twitter.

The 49-year-old challenges Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, who has regularly made headlines and sparked controversy over the past few months with his controversial course on abortion, suffrage or pandemic regulations.

Texas is a Republican stronghold.

O'Rourke's attempt to replace Abbott is likely to attract a lot of attention.

O'Rourke raised record sums of donations

O'Rourke had already unsuccessfully applied for a Senate seat in Texas in 2018.

In the race at the time against Republican Ted Cruz, however, O'Rourke surprisingly attacked his competitor, collected record sums of donations and made a name for himself on the national stage.

Also in the race for the 2020 presidential election, O'Rourke was briefly involved as a candidate, but withdrew his application early due to a lack of prospects of success.

The Democrat had a seat in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019.

muk / dpa