[WASHINGTONTIMES] Democratic candidate for governor Beto O’Rourke;
 ...Kennedyeque businessman, musician, skateboard artiste, and politician who represented Texas' 16th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. Beto is a Latino nickname for people whose names end in "erto," like "Roberto" or "Alberto." He is seeking the Dem nomination for President in 2020 because he has nice hair and lots of teeth. He was born into a local political family in El Paso, Texas and is a graduate of a prep school and Columbia University, which is not in Texas. In 2005, he was elected to the El Paso City Council. He was elected to Congress in 2012 after defeating eight-term incumbent Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary. He declined to seek re-election in 2018, instead running for the Senate against Republican Ted Cruz, running a campaign that drew national attention because of his skateboarding skills. A few months after he lost, he announced his campaign for President...
is looking for ways to close a persistent gap in the polls with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott
... governor of Texas. Abbott is a Republican. His 2014 Dem opponent, state senatrix Wendy Davis, thought the absolute, most pressing, most important issue facing the state was abortion. Abbott beat the pantyhose off her. His 2018 opponent, Lupe Valdez didn't dwell too heavily on abortion, but she lost too...
, backing off his far-left stance on border security, gun ownership and other hot-button issues.
The O’Rourke pivot is a glaring bid to turn out the party’s more moderate base and win over independent voters in the conservative state.
Mr. O’Rourke, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2018 and made a failed bid for the Democratic presidential nomination a year later, has been campaigning nearly nonstop to unseat Mr. Abbott after easily winning the Democratic primary on March 1.
Polling shows Mr. O’Rourke consistently lagging behind Mr. Abbott, though only by single digits, leading some analysts to predict a close race.
Since announcing his candidacy in November, Mr. O’Rourke has shifted his position on key issues, including gun rights, border security and school curricula.
"I challenge Mr. Abbott to a skate-off!"
The Abbott team says the shift, which appears to be aimed at attracting the state’s more moderate Democrats and independents, is a sign that Mr. O’Rourke’s campaign is struggling.
"He’s been all over the place on all the issues," said Mark Miner, an Abbott campaign front man. "He’s on this extreme Texas makeover tour where every stop he comes up with a new position."
Democratic strategists say Mr. O’Rourke has not flip-flopped but has refined his positions on some issues, including gun control. 
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