In a move that came as no surprise, Beto O’Rourke announced yesterday that he running to be the next governor of Texas in the 2022 election.
O’Rourke went viral in 2019 during his failed presidential bid after he vehemently told gun owners during a national debate that “Hell Yes!” he would be coming for their AR-15s if he won the White House.
During the Presidential debate, O’Rourke said specifically,
Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47!”
After failing to take down Senator Ted Cruz for his U.S. Senate seat in 2018 and failing to become the Democrat presidential nominee in 2020, O’Rourke now turns his sights on the Texas governorship.
Does he have a chance?
Many gun owners may think that O’Rourke winning in Texas is impossible because, after all, “It’s Texas!” In fact, if your only knowledge of Texas is what you see on TV and its gun culture, you might be lulled into thinking that Beto has set himself up for a third embarrassing failure.
That may turn out to be the case, but gun owners shouldn’t sit back and wait to see him lose. That’s because Texas is one of many “red” states that have seen a massive shift in their population demographics in the last few years.
For decades Texas was one of the reddest states in the country, but that is changing – and fast. Very few states have seen a similar population boom to that of Texas in the last few years.
According to TexasRealEstate.com, Texas has brought in over half a million news residents from outside the state every year for at least eight years in a row.
The data on the population growth isn’t good for gun owners:
According to the Census estimates, Texas welcomed 537,000 – 582,000 new residents in 2019. This is the seventh year in a row that Texas attracted more than 500,000 new residents from out of state….The Lone Star State also welcomed approximately 192,000 – 222,000 new residents from outside the United States in 2019.”
The results of these population booms always seem to have the same result. First, liberals move into the bigger cities and eventually turn the entire state blue.
It happened in California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado and is happening right now in red states like Arizona and Texas. Even ultra-conservative Idaho has lost its capital city of Boise to the radical left.
Gun Owners Need to Get Involved!
Gun owners in Texas can’t sit by and hope that O’Rourke will back down from his gun control stances. In fact, he doubled down on his views in the very speech where he announced his gubernatorial run!
O’Rourke said,
Most of us understand the responsibility that comes with owning a firearm, and we will vigorously protect that Second Amendment right and also protect the lives of those around us,” he said. “But I think most of us also understand that we should not have military-style weapons used against our fellow Texans. We have four of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history right here in Texas that took place over the last five years.”
But O’Rourke wasn’t done there. He also went after current Texas Governor Greg Abbott, telling the Texas Tribune,
What I think you’ll also find is most Texans reject Greg Abbott’s extreme, divisive policies when it comes to firearms, like signing the law for the permitless carry bill,” he said, adding that the bill was opposed by members of law enforcement worried it could endanger officers.”
With Texas drifting purple, and its biggest cities nearly all gone blue, gun owners cannot underestimate the gun control crowd.
Hopefully, gun owners mobilize and keep the state from falling into the hands of one of the most anti-gun candidates they have ever seen.
What do you think of the Texas gubernatorial race? Do you believe O’Rourke can pull off a victory?
Let us know in the comments below.
