It's Official: Beto Will Not Be Running for Texas Governor

There's been so much talk in recent months about Matthew McConaughey possibly running for governor that we forgot about another young guy some believed would throw his hat in the ring - Beto O'Rourke.

The former Democratic congressman and presidential hopeful were rumored to be considering a run, but the Dallas Morning News reports that O'Rourke has given a definitive "no".

Speaking to the Lone Star Politics program, O'Rourke said he's instead focusing on mobilizing voters through his work with the Powered by the People PAC and teaching at UT and TSU. He instead recommended that Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins or Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo run against current governor Greg Abbott in 2022.

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O'Rourke made news in February for helping organize efforts to perform wellness checks and get supplies to seniors during the winter storm, which further fueled rumors that he was considering a gubernatorial run.

Lately, he's been an outspoken critic of new Texas voting restriction bills and Senator Ted Cruz's recent visit to the U.S.-Mexico border. (O'Rourke ran against Cruz for his Senate seat in 2018.)

Beto's caught his fair share of flack lately too. Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert recently appeared on Fox News to accuse O'Rourke of trying to "legislate evil" by calling for new gun control measures, and every other day we hear a reference to O'Rourke's now-infamous "Hell yes, we're coming to take your AR-15" quote from a September 2019 Democratic debate.

So here's where we are - no Beto, but a possible McConaughey in 2022. I'm sure we'll hear more names as we get closer to the Texas gubernatorial election. There's always the possibility that current Governor Greg Abbott could be considering a presidential run, so it's going to be a very interesting couple of years here in the Lone Star State.