Rove: Gov. Abbot won't allow Beto O'Rourke's leftist agenda in Texas
Fox News contributor Karl Rove reacts to former Rep. Beto O'Rourke's campaign for Texas governor.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign fired back at former Rep. Beto O’Rourke reminding voters of O'Rourke's far-left positions in response to the Democrat launching his gubernatorial campaign.
Abbott’s campaign posted a video on Wednesday that talked about "what Beto didn’t say in his announcement" for governor, torching O’Rourke for his far-left positions on guns, the Green New Deal and police departments.
"Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," O’Rourke says in one clip of the video featuring the failed Senate and presidential contender’s views.
BETO O’ROURKE RUNNING FOR TEXAS GOVERNOR AGAINST GOP INCUMBENT ABBOTT
Twitter (Gov Abbott Twitter)
"I love the framing of the Green New Deal," O’Rourke says in another clip.
The video also took shots at O’Rourke for his opposition to former President Trump’s wall along the southern border.
Abbott's campaign went up with new ad taking aim at O’Rourke on the eve of his gubernatorial campaign announcement.
The statewide digital spot highlights past comments by O’Rourke on the combustible issues of immigration and border security that he made during his unsuccessful bid for the 2020 presidential nomination, which the former congressman from El Paso launched after coming close to defeating Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in the 2018 election.
O’Rourke announced his candidacy for the Lone Star State’s governorship on Monday, taking on incumbent Abbott for the red granite capital's chambers.
During his failed 2018 Senate bid against Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, O’Rourke took a moderate stance on high-powered weapons, telling Texans they could "keep" their AR-15s.
O’Rourke did a complete 180 on the subject of AR-15s and similar firearms in his failed 2020 presidential bid, pledging to enact mandatory gun buyback programs for the rifles.
The former Texas congressman stood by his previous stance on gun buybacks, with some believing the stance will hurt his chances in the race.
O'Rourke enters a Democratic primary field that does not yet include any high-profile names. Abbot, meanwhile, will have to fend off primary challenges from former Texas GOP chairman Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines.
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In his announcement video, O'Rourke attacked Texas Republicans on a number of issues, including the catastrophic power grid failures last winter.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed reporting.
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