Beto O’Rourke’s possible run for governor becomes a Jimmy Fallon punchline
The weekend buzz around Beto O’Rourke’s potential run for governor of Texas has reached the late night show circuit.
On Sunday, Axios reported that the Democrat from El Paso is expected to announce his run for later this year. The following day Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon made sure to bring it up during his monologue.
The audience cheered when Fallon told them the news, but he followed it up by pointing out the former congressman’s not-so-stellar recent track record.
“He’s run for senator, president, and now governor,” Fallon said. “If he loses this race, the only thing left is condo board treasurer.”
In 2018, O’Rourke narrowly lost the U.S. Senate race to Ted Cruz. The closer-than-expected race in a red state gave him national notoriety and he decided to run for president in 2020, but he dropped out of the race before the primaries began.
Since then, he has worked to increase voter registration in Texas and has been a frequent critic of Gov. Greg Abbott.
In a recent Dallas Morning News poll, he trails Abbott by five percentage points in a hypothetical matchup.The same poll shows shows actor Matthew McConaughey leading the governor. McConaughey has not announced a run for office.
