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Gov.Greg AbbottandBeto O’Rourkewill face off in November after winning primary races Tuesday as the 2022 midterm elections officially kicked off in Texas.
“Tonight, Republicans sent a message,” Gov. Abbott, a Republican incumbent, said at a rally in Corpus Christi to celebrate his win Tuesday against a handful of GOP challengers. “They want to keep Texas the land of opportunity and prosperity for absolutely everybody, the prosperity that we have delivered over the past eight years.”
Abbott, 64, secured approximately 68 percent of the vote, according toThe Texas Tribune. His closest challengers were Allen West and Don Huffines, who came in with 12.3 and 11.9 percentage points, respectively.
Democrat O’Rourke, 49, won more than 90 percent of the vote to secure his place on the ballot in November. He defeated former radio journalistJoy Diaz, who earned 3.2 percent of the vote, and three other candidates.
“Tell me there’s a more important place for us to be in Texas, more important place for us to win, than this one right here,” O’Rourke said in Fort Worth at a rally in Tarrant County, which he flipped from red to blue in his unsuccessful 2018 race for the U.S. Senate.
“We’ve got to get past the incompetence, the corruption and the cruelty of Greg Abbott,” O’Rourke told supporters. “Are you with me on this?”
Based on turnout numbers, O’Rourke and Democrats in Texas may have their work cut out for them before Election Day on Nov. 8.
Also heading for a run-off are Republican candidates for Texas Attorney GeneralKen Paxton, the incumbent, andGeorge P. Bush, the grandson of President George H. W. Bush and son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
source: people.com
