Beto O’Rourke pauses campaign events while recovering from bacterial infection

Beto O’Rourke, the 2022 Democratic nominee for governor, met with supporters at the Texas Democratic Convention in Dallas on July 15, 2022. (Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune)

Beto O’Rourke said Sunday that he will be off the campaign trail for an unspecified period after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection.

The Democratic nominee for governor checked into Methodist Hospital in San Antonio on Friday, and he was given IV antibiotics. O’Rourke is now recuperating at home in El Paso.

“While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors’ recommendations,” O’Rourke said in a message to his supporters. “I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but I promise to be back on the road as soon as I am able.”

O’Rourke’s campaign declined to share additional details about his illness or when he would return to the campaign trail.

O’Rourke had been in the middle of a 49-day campaign tour, where he planned to hold around 70 public events and travel more than 5,600 miles. His events in San Antonio, Pearsall, Three Rivers, Corpus Christi and Goliad will be rescheduled, according to his campaign website.

O’Rourke is challenging incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican. Election Day is Nov. 8.

---

The full program is now LIVE for the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 22-24 in Austin. Explore the schedule of 100+ mind-expanding conversations coming to TribFest, including the inside track on the 2022 elections and the 2023 legislative session, the state of public and higher ed at this stage in the pandemic, why Texas suburbs are booming, why broadband access matters, the legacy of slavery, what really happened in Uvalde and so much more. See the program.