Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott defeats Beto O’Rourke, re-elected for third term

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The Fox News Decision Desk can project that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) will remain in the Governor’s mansion for a third term. He defeats high-profile Democratic candidate Beto O’Rourke.

O’Rourke, the former congressman from El Paso who grabbed national attention for nearly upsetting conservative Sen. Ted Cruz in the state’s 2018 Senate showdown before launching an unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, was trying to become the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election in Texas in over three decades. 

He showcased his proposals promoting public education and reducing gun violence, in the wake of the horrific Uvalde, Texas, shooting where 19 elementary school students and two teachers were fatally shot, during his gubernatorial campaign. He also criticized the governor for last year’s electricity grid failure across the state and for signing an extremely strict abortion law.

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Texas gubernatorial candidates Greg Abbott, a Republican, and Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat. (Brandon Bell, Jim Bennett/WireImage via Getty Images)

Abbott, the conservative former longtime state attorney general, touted the state’s economy, his tough stance on the issues of border security and illegal immigration, and crime, and targeted O’Rourke for his pivots on issues such as gun control, as he ran for re-election.

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While O’Rourke enjoyed ferocious fundraising during his campaign — outpacing Abbott in the homestretch and erasing the Texas governor’s once formidable cash advantage — Abbott consistently topped his Democratic challenger in nearly every public opinion poll in the race. 

With a third straight gubernatorial victory in one the largest red state in the nation, political pundits will increasingly view Abbott as a potential 2024 Republican presidential hopeful. 

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Aides to the Texas governor have told Fox News that Abbott has no intention of running for the White House next cycle, and that he’s laser focused on Texas. 

But it was also very evident that during his re-election run, Abbott campaigned as much against President Biden and national Democrats nearly as much as he did against O’Rourke, which appeared to be indication of his possible national ambitions.