Beto O’Rourke Hospitalized, All Campaign Events Canceled

Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke has canceled all further campaign events, for the time being, after being hospitalized.

O’Rourke announced his hospitalization on Twitter on Sunday. He claimed that, after “feeling ill,” he was taken to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, on Friday where he was “diagnosed with a bacterial infection.”

O’Rourke also confirmed that he was placed on an intravenous antibiotics dispenser. The procedure, where antibiotics are injected directly into the bloodstream, is used for serious infections when oral antibiotics cannot reach tissues quickly enough.

O’Rourke was discharged from Methodist Hospital over the weekend and relocated to his home in El Paso, according to Politico.

It was unclear what bacterial infection O’Rourke was diagnosed with, the severity of the condition and when or whether he will be fit to run for the rest of the campaign.

O’Rourke’s tweet said he would be “back on the road … as soon as I’m able.”

While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors’ recommendations.

I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but promise to be back on the road with you as soon as I am able.

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 28, 2022

The infection comes as O’Rourke, running against two-term incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, is down in the polls. According to RealClearPolitics’s average of all major polls between July 9 and Aug. 7, O’Rourke trailed Abbott by 6.8 points.

The race is O’Rourke’s second statewide run and third major campaign in four years. Previously, O’Rourke ran for the U.S. Senate in 2018 against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, where he lost by a slim margin – 50.9% to 48.3% – despite Texas’s strong Republican voting record, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index.

O’Rourke also sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but ended his campaign before the Iowa caucuses due to poor polling. During primary debates, he gained notoriety for proposing a mandatory buyback of some “assault-style” firearms.

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15 and AK-47,” he said, which was criticized by some Democrats for its direct ultimatum to gun owners. O’Rourke has since made gun control a centerpiece of his political brand.

O’Rourke was recently criticized for interrupting a press conference by Abbott, Cruz and other officials about the joint response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, which killed 19 students and two teachers.

O’Rourke’s received a bipartisan rebuke for the move. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin shouted back at O’Rourke during the event, “I can’t believe that you’re a sick son of a b**** that would come to a deal like this to make a political issue.”

Most recently, O’Rourke snapped at a member of the audience during one of his rallies, who laughed as he discussed his response to the Uvalde shooting. “It may be funny to you, m***********,” he said.