Beto O’Rourke calls Texas governor Greg Abbott an ‘authoritarian’ and ‘thug’

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate compared his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin

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Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, has likened his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, calling Greg Abbott an authoritarian" and a thug".

As governor, Abbott has presided over draconian laws on issues including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights. In February 2021, on his watch, a failure of the state energy grid during cold weather contributed to hundreds of deaths.