Executive

Texas Governor candidate Beto O’Rourke says he has ‘no interest’ in campaign help from President Biden

Published

3 years ago

January 24, 2022

Roy Batty

On Friday, Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke said that he does not have any interest in having campaign help from President Joe Biden, whose approval ratings have continued to fall in recent months.

O’Rourke said he would not be seeking the help of any Washington politicians in his bid to beat current Gov. Greg Abbott for the office.

“I’m not interested in any national politician – anyone outside of Texas – coming into this state to help decide the outcome of this,” O’Rourke said. “I think we all want to make sure that we’re working with, listening to, and voting with one another here in Texas.” His comments came at a news conference that took place in Austin.

O’Rourke’s Friday comment echoes similar ones he made back in November when he declined to invite President Joe Biden to campaign with him. He pushed a message of nonpartisan unity when he spoke.

“This campaign in Texas is not going to be about Joe Biden. It’s not going to be about Donald Trump. It’s not going to be about anyone from outside of our state. This is going to be about the people of Texas and what the people of Texas want,” he said.

“I’m focused on Texas and on my fellow Texans. Those are the people most important to me. There’s no politician, there’s no other person from outside of this state who can help change the course of this election, for better or for worse.”

During the same news conference, O’Rourke announced that his gubernatorial campaign would get in touch with 2 million voters through the month of February to educate them regarding new voting laws that have caused hundreds of rejected mail in ballot applications.

He added that recent action or inaction from Congress and the Supreme Court on voting rights and abortion have proven that the Democratic Party in Texas needs to confront the issues themselves.

“No one in Washington D.C. right now can help us with the challenges that we have,” he noted. “This one is on all of us.”