Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke is still weighing up whether to enter his state’s 2026 Senate race amid incumbent Sen. John Cornyn’s bruising primary battle, as he called on the Democrats to be “ruthless” when it comes to redistricting battles.
O’Rourke (D-Texas), who’s lost three contests since he last won a mayoral election in 2016, kept the door open to a possible run despite former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) already tossing his hat in the ring.
“I don’t know. Right now, I’m holding these town halls all over the state of Texas, across the country to listen to people to bring them together and to channel our anger into action,” O’Rourke told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
“But I’m very optimistic about Democrats’ opportunity in 2026.”
The Lone Star State Democrat, who served in Congress from 2013 to 2019, was thrust into the national spotlight after his fiercely competitive race against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018.
O’Rourke lost to Cruz by about 2.5 percentage points during the blue wave year in the deeply red state.
From there, he ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nod, before dropping out prior to votes being cast. Then he challenged incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in 2022, but was crushed by double digits.
Notably, in 2020, O’Rourke declined to challenge Cornyn (R-Texas) and opted for his unsuccessful presidential bid instead.
Cornyn is facing a brutal primary from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has been mired in various controversies but has been topping him in most recent polling. Cruz is staying neutral.
This has given Democrats hope that Texas could emerge as a dark horse pick-up opportunity, because Paxton is generally perceived as less formidable than Cornyn in a general election.
Allred, who lost to Cruz by 8.5 percentage points in 2024, has fashioned himself a moderate Democrat. But many analysts believe 2026 could prove to be a blue wave year, due to historical trends.
O’Rourke called on Dems to become “ruthless” heading into the 2026 election cycle.
“We have to get serious. We have to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power,” the former congressman said.
O’Rourke railed against Texas Republicans eyeing potential redistricting tweaks to tip the state’s congressional maps further in the GOP’s favor and urged Democratic-controlled states to follow suit.
“Wherever we have the trifecta of power, we have to use that to its absolute extent. And then the last thing, this may end up biting Republicans in the a–,” he added.
“You have the possibility that they will disperse Republican voters to make up these three or four or five new congressional districts and put those districts in play.”
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