Gov. Greg Abbott’s new campaign ad bashes Beto O’Rourke … who isn’t even running

If it feels like Gov. Greg Abbott has been running for reelection for the past year, it’s because he has. He’s staged photo ops with former President Donald Trump while blasting the current commander-in-chief. He’s courted right-wing outlets, gerrymandered — er, redistricted — areas with diverse or Democratic voting populations, and offended just about everyone outside of his voting bloc with his legislative agenda.

But this week his gubernatorial campaign is leveling up with campaign ads targeting people who aren’t even running for governor (yet).

Currently in Abbott’s crosshairs is Beto O’Rourke, the former congressman who failed to unseat Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate in 2018. On October 25, Abbott released an ad called “Wrong Way O’Rourke,” which took aim at the El Pasoan’s stance on defunding the police and his support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The ad begins with an old rabbit-ear TV set on a floor, which we can only presume is how Abbott’s campaign thinks people watch television in 2021. As footage of cars burning plays on the set, the caption reads “I really love Black Lives Matter,” an echo of what O’Rourke is saying.

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What follows is 30 seconds of a butchered O’Rourke interview spliced with footage of protestors in unnamed cities protesting unnamed things all while cars in unknown locations burn. The words “defund” and “police” naturally appear all while protestors, most of whom are Black, walk across the screen.

Though the visuals are vague, the message is clear: The world is burning and everything is dangerous … if you vote for Beto O’Rourke, who hasn’t even said if he’s running for governor.

So, does Abbott know something we don’t? Probably not, but it’s a safe bet that O’Rourke will run. On October 26, Axios reported that the former congressman will declare before the holidays, citing an unnamed source. And add a certain Austin-based Academy Award-winning actor into the mix, and who knows who will be in the governor’s mansion in 2023.

With Texas’ gubernatorial election still a year away, we still have 12 months of attack ads and first shots and Twitter tirades left before November 8, 2022.

Lucky us.