Democrat Beto O’Rourke will hold two virtual campaign events Monday after pausing in-person rallies due to an illness that required a brief visit to the hospital last week.
O’Rourke became ill Friday and was later diagnosed with a bacterial infection at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio where he was administered antibiotics and told to rest, his campaign said in a statement Sunday.
“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 statement. “I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but promise to be back on the road as soon as I am able.”
O’Rourke, a former Congressman from El Paso who is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, was in the middle of his Drive for Texas campaign — a multi-week, 5,600-mile trek across the state – that kicked off in El Paso last month. It’s unclear when he’ll return to live events.
The events Monday include the virtual launch of the Latinos Con Beto Coalition, that will include famed labor and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta and Texas-born actress and activist Eva Longoria. Later, O’Rourke will speak during the virtual launch of the Black Texans for Beto coalition.
A poll conducted by The Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler earlier this month showed O’Rourke trailing Abbott by 7 percentage points.
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