SAN ANTONIO – Gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke stopped in San Antonio Wednesday night for a campaign meet and greet.
O’Rourke is considered the frontrunner among the five Democrats on the ballot for the March 1 Texas Primary Election. Earlier this week, he touted a fundraising total of $7.2 million raised in the first 46 days of his campaign.
During his San Antonio visit, he answered media questions staying focused on two main issues — the power grid and voting rights.
“Greg Abbott, our governor, has still not fixed the grid, so the gas supply is not protected. ERCOT says if we have a severe weather event like the one we had last February, we will not be able to keep the lights on or the heat running. We’ve got to get that fixed or we’re going to continue to have these problems,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke said he wants to weatherize “every part of the grid,” especially the gas supply. In addition, he’d consider whether to interconnect with the national grid and help ratepayers weatherize and make their homes energy-efficient.
O’Rourke also addressed the stricter voting rules enacted by Texas Republicans last year, asking his supporters to help get friends and neighbors registered to vote.
“It’ll literally decide the future and the fate of the state of Texas. So we’ve got to overcome this with great organizing and turnout,” he said. “We are not going to win unless we show up. So you see me here again in San Antonio, back again in Laredo, where we started the campaign down to McAllen and Edinburg and Brownsville. These voters have either been taken for granted by Democrats or written off by Republicans. We’re going to be there and work to earn those votes so that we can win this race.”
Watch O’Rourke’s media interview in the video player at the top of this article.
Incumbent Gov. Abbott is facing an even more crowded Republican Primary with eight candidates in the running. But he also has a massive fundraising advantage. Abbott has raised $18.9 million over the last six months with his record-setting war chest at $65 million.
He delivered remarks at the Texas Public Policy Foundation Policy Orientation on Wednesday evening.
You can watch his full speech in the video player below.