Beto O’Rourke pauses campaign for Texas Governor after being diagnosed with bacterial infection

Beto O’Rourke, who is running against Greg Abbott in Texas gubernational contest, announced on Sunday that he has been diagnosed with a “bacterial infection” and after receiving care at the hospital, he will be “resting at home.” O’Rourke has suspended any campaign events until further notice.

“After feeling ill on Friday, I went to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio where I was diagnosed with a bacterial infection,” O’Rourke said in a statement. “While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors’ recommendations. I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this but promise to be back on the road as soon as I am able.”

After his treatment at Methodist Hospital, O’Rourke paid tribute to the staff who took care of him. “The extraordinary team there — from custodians to nurses and doctors — gave me excellent care and attention, including IV antibiotics and rest,” O’Rourke said.

O’Rourke previously ran against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018, losing by only a few percentage points. After that he tried running for President, but lost. In his current race for Governor, O’Rourke is trailing Abbott by multiple percentage points.

O’Rourke’s campaign is largely based on gun control issues and abortion rights. He is best known for his 2019 comments in which he told a crowd “Hell yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15.”

O’Rourke has also previously spoken out against Texas’ Heartbeat Act that prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, which is usually around 6 weeks of pregnancy.

Several Republicans have said that his stance on mandatory gun buy backs will hurt him. Jordan Berry, who is a GOP political consultant, said last year that O’Rourke is compromised in Texas, where the Second Amendment is taken “really seriously.”