Beto O'Rourke says his campaign for Texas governor won't be about Joe Biden or Donald Trump but will focus on state issues
Charlie Neibergall/AP
- Former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is running for Texas governor.
- O'Rourke did not invite President Joe Biden to campaign with him when asked by CNN.
- O'Rourke said he's focusing his campaign on the needs of Texans.
Former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is running for Texas governor but would not say if he would invite President Joe Biden to campaign with him.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union", host Dana Bash asked O'Rourke: "You campaigned for Joe Biden in 2020 after your presidential run came to an end. A recent poll shows though that just 35% of Texans approve of his performance. Would you like the President to come and campaign with you?"
"This campaign in Texas is not gonna be about Joe Biden. It's not gonna be about Donald Trump. It's not going to be about anyone from outside of our state," O'Rourke replied.
O'Rourke said his bid for governor is going to be focused on what the "people of Texas want."
"They want the big things like jobs, great schools, and making sure everyone can see a doctor, but they also want to see some competence in their government," he said.
He said Texans are focused on what's happening in their state, not what's going on in the rest of the country.
Bash then asked O'Rourke if that meant he preferred Biden didn't come.
"It means I'm focused on Texas and on my fellow Texans. Those are the people most important to me," O'Rourke said. "There is no politician, there is no other person from outside this state who can help to change the course of this election for better or worse."
Biden's approval rating has been declining since July, Insider's Kelsey Vlamis previously reported. The president's approval rating based on FiveThirtyEight's average of polls is 42.5 percent and his disapproval rating is 51.8 percent.