Beto O’Rourke breaks down campaign promises in San Antonio rally

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) —Beto O’Rourke announced his bid to unseat Governor Greg Abbott in the November 2022 election yesterday and made his first campaign stop in San Antonio this morning.

O’Rourke spoke to a bustling crowd in the parking lot of Communication Workers of America Local 6143.

“It feels so good to be with all of you again and to be here in San Antonio,” O’Rourke said. “And to have the chance to partner with the working women and working men of this community, who have been on the frontlines each and every day.”

O’Rourke laid out what he would like to tackle as Governor, which includes paying all workers “a living wage,” in addition to expanded access to healthcare and boosting public education through better wages for teachers.

He vilified the bounty paid to private citizens who sue women and abortion providers over the Texas Heartbeat Law, the recently-signed transgender student-athlete law and referred to Texas police chiefs and officers who he says asked Abbott to reconsider the passing of constitutional permitless carry.

“[Abbott] is pitting us against each other,” O’Rourke said. “…instead of getting us back to focusing on the big things. Ensuring that the best jobs in America are created right here in the state of Texas, the best schools and best educators right here in the state of Texas, and then we make progress on common sense things that all of us agree on.”

Those commonly agreed-upon issues, he said, include expanding Medicaid and easing property tax bills.

“Here’s another one,” he said. “That whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, whether you live in a small town or a big city, it is time for us to legalize marijuana.”

In addition to campaign promises on issues, O’Rourke said that, if elected, has plans to partner with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and Texas President Rick Levy to produce more than 1 million new energy jobs “to complement and add to the very important oil and gas jobs we already have.”

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg took to the stage following the remarks with words of support for O’Rourke.

“We thank you, Beto, for being a friend to our city,” Nirenberg said. “We have a lot of work to do up in Austin … we have so many people from across the city: teachers, grocery store clerks, nurses, doctors, families who have been through so much the last couple of years. We’ve been pulling together to get through and here we are today to support somebody who we know is going to be working with us.”

The Texas Tribune surveyed registered voters in Texas on November 5 about how they would vote in a hypothetical election featuring Abbott and O’Rourke. Survey respondents voted in favor of Abbott by 9-points with Abbott at 46% and O’Rourke at 37%. 7% of polled respondents said they would vote for someone else and 10% said they had no opinion.