O’Rourke undecided on if he’ll run for Senate seat in 2026
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) Senate 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, for 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 Texas Reps. Colin Allred and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher as examples of Democrats who “defeated entrenched well-funded Republicans” in the 2018 midterms.
Allred lost his Senate bid against Cruz in 2024 and has recently announced that he will run against Cornyn's Senate seat in 2026.
“You had 17 black women win judicial positions in Harris County, in Houston, Texas,” he 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.