Beto O'Rourke talks Democratic strategy ahead of 2026 midterms
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke has not shied away from politics despite three failed runs for office.
The former U.S. Senate, presidential and gubernatorial Democratic candidate has spent most of his year racing around the state, holding town halls to discuss what issues matter most to voters. Now, he is also looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections.
In an interview, O'Rourke confirmed that a meeting took place between himself and top Texas Democrats U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), State Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas). He said the meeting was to look ahead to the midterms and decide which Democratic candidates should run for which offices.
'We don't lack Democrats who can run powerful, strong statewide races. My concern is making sure that everyone is in the right position,' O'Rourke said. 'If you have everybody clustered in a Senate primary, for example, well then, who's going to run for governor, lieutenant governor, Attorney General?'
Currently, only a few Democrats have declared candidacy for statewide office — State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) announced she would run for lieutenant governor earlier this year. NASA Astronaut Terry Virts also announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, and East Texas Farmer Bobby Cole is running for governor. But the rest of the Texas Democratic bench has remained in place despite rumors surrounding their potential candidacies.
The eventual Democratic nominee in the Senate race may get a more favorable matchup should Attorney General Ken Paxton defeat Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary. A recent poll from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas found Paxton's approval rating at just 29 percent, with only 11 percent approving strongly. Other hypothetical polling has shown Allred leading Paxton but trailing Cornyn.
Should Allred choose to run again, he would enter the race with a history of strong performances. He defeated incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Waco) in the 2018 race for Texas' 32nd congressional district before running against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024. While he lost by 8.5 points, he significantly overperformed former Vice President Kamala Harris in the state, especially among Hispanic voters in the Rio Grande Valley.
At just 36, Talarico has been seen as a young rising star in the Democratic Party. Before the lines were redrawn, he represented a swing district north of Austin in the Texas House and won a few close races. Castro, like O'Rourke, was also a candidate for president in 2020, and serves as a U.S. Representative in Texas' 20th congressional district, based in San Antonio.
O'Rourke's town halls suggest he may be pursuing statewide office in 2026, but he was not ready to announce anything just yet, staying focused on what he can do in this moment.
'If it makes sense to be a candidate … then I will. My only guiding principle, my north star, is what can I do now for this country in its moment of truth,' O'Rourke said. 'If that includes being a candidate at some point, I'm open to that.'
His town halls are not just in big Democratic areas, but also in smaller, more Republican cities around the state, including places like Midland, Tyler and Beaumont. His message focuses on policies that may affect Texans, including increasing Medicaid access, keeping THC products legal, raising the minimum wage above $7.25 per hour and protecting abortion access for women.
Asked if a Democrat taking back a state or federal office in Texas was more important, O'Rourke seemed to suggest the U.S. Senate race was top of mind as a way to counter the Trump administration.
'It's tough not to say that we need to do it all at the federal level. I really do think it's existential,' O'Rourke said. 'This idea of self-government–it might really perish from the planet unless we stand up to take it back. And that means winning that seat in the Senate.'
A Democrat has not won statewide in Texas since 1994, but O'Rourke has come the closest of anyone since. He lost the 2018 U.S. Senate race to Sen. Ted Cruz by roughly 2.5 points before failing to seek the Democratic nomination for president and losing the 2022 governor's race to Gov. Greg Abbott by nearly 11 points.
Still, O'Rourke said Texas is misunderstood as a state, and a Democrat can win if they campaign on the issues that matter the most to Texans.
'The national media and the country at large have written us off as this red conservative state,' O'Rourke said. 'It is up to Democrats, even though the playing field is tilted against us, to go out there and seize that power by meeting with voters, by listening to them, by reflecting their values in the campaigns that we run.'
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