Beto throws his hat in the ring against Strangeabbott

Announcement on YouTube:

I had not-jokinging asked rhetorically on Twitter which Robert Francis O'Rourke would run.

Would it be the the neoliberal ConservaDem of 2018 who refused to back Medicare for All? (Despite that, and hoping for a place at the party table, then-insurgent Sema Hernandez endorsed him anyway. Go here for my overall take on that. Go here for Hernandez's transmogrification from insurgent to Just.Another.Politician.)

Or would it be the (likely pandering) wild man of the 2020 presidential run, going far left of his previous position on gunz and other things? (He in reality remained a ConservaDem on most issues, like loving him some oil money. But, since he's running for state not federal office, he can dodge single-payer questions.)

Well, per the video, it appears he's taking a page from Railroad Commish candidate Luke Warford and starting with Winter Storm Uri. The "competence" angle is smart. It avoids the "old Beto" vs "new Beto" issues and gets at something that will come back to people's minds when post-bailout power bills start coming in.

That said, Beto did call, by calling it a matter of focus, for legalizing pot. That must be something poll-tested.

At the Trib, Svitek is right: He IS a weaker candidate than in 2018.

That said, Abbott is vulnerable, and if Allen West and Don Huffines push him, could feel the need to tack yet further right in the GOP primary, which would be an issue in the general.

And, a final political chess question.

Now that Beto is in, where is Matthew McConaughey? In or out, and if in, as a ConservaDem or an independent? And, in or out, when does he give us some word?