Beto O’Rourke reportedly plans to announce that he’ll run for Texas governor

EL PASO, Texas -- Former El Paso Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke plans to soon announce that he will challenge Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's reelection bid in next year's election, Texas political operatives told Axios on Sunday.

The 48-year-old O'Rourke is one the highest profile Democrats in Texas. He was speculated to have been considering a run for governor for some time now and has periodically hinted at making a political comeback.

Since losing a close U.S. senate race to Republican Ted Cruz in 2018 and a failed 2020 presidential run, O’Rourke has launched a political action committee called 'Powered by People' that has been active in a number of causes - most notably, voting rights.

In a hypothetical gubernatorial race match-up in a recent Dallas Morning News poll, Abbott held a five percentage point lead over O'Rourke.