On Monday Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke announced a 49-day tour through Texas, promising to visit more than 65 counties and hold more than 70 public events.
The 5,600-mile tour will begin next week in O’Rourke’s hometown of El Paso and wrap up in Denton. The drive will run from July 19 to early September.
“We are going to bring people together in every part of this state to overcome Abbott’s extremism, incompetence, cruelty and corruption, and focus on the big things that unite us: great jobs, world-class schools, the ability to see a doctor and lowering costs so every Texan can live to their full potential,” O’Rourke said in a prepared statement.
According to the campaign, the drive will focus on uniting voters with issues like jobs, investments in schools, and expanding health care.
Major stops include San Antonio on August 26 and Austin on Sept. 6.
The drive comes after a series of more than 50 public town halls from O’Rourke where he has focused on issues like Gov. Greg Abbott’s CPS scandal, the Texas electrical grid, and issues important to veterans.
In February, O’Rourke completed another statewide tour to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Winter Storm Uri. He ended that tour in Houston, promising consequences for gas suppliers that profited illegally from the freeze, and vowing to connect Texas’ isolated power grid to the rest of the nation.
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignal.com
