Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said on Sunday that he has not yet decided whether to run for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2026.
“I don’t know,” O’Rourke said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if he plans to run for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) seat, which is up for reelection next year.
“Right now, I’m holding these town halls all over the state of Texas, across the country to listen to people, to bring them together and to channel our anger into action, registering people to vote, organizing with voters right now,” he continued.
O’Rourke — who ran unsuccessful bids for senator in 2018, president in 2020, and Texas governor in 2022 — said he’s optimistic about Democrats’ chances next year.
“But I’m very optimistic about Democrats’ opportunity in 2026,” O’Rourke said.
“In Trump’s last midterm in 2018, when I was running against Ted Cruz, not only did we come close to defeating the sitting senator, but 12 insurgent Democrats defeated 12 incumbent Republicans in the state House,” he added, referring to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
O’Rourke pointed to Rep. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (Texas) and former Rep. Colin Allred (Texas) as examples of Democrats who “defeated entrenched, well-funded Republicans” in the 2018 midterms.
Allred lost his Senate bid against Cruz in 2024 and recently announced that he will run for Cornyn’s Senate seat in 2026.
“You had 17 Black women win judicial positions in Harris County, in Houston, Texas,” O’Rourke continued. “It was transformational for the state of Texas.”
“There will be a price for this extremism from Donald Trump from the people that he’s hurting across the country right now. And I think we will see that play out in 2026,” O’Rourke said.
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