Beto O'Rourke steps off campaign trail to recover from bacterial infection

(Image credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

published 29 August 2022

Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke said Sunday that he will be pausing his campaign events while recovering from a bacterial infection he was diagnosed with on Friday. "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 note to 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, who is challenging Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in November's election, was in the middle of a 49-day tour of the state when he started feeling ill and checked into Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, where he was given IV antibiotics. The events he is missing while recuperating will be rescheduled, his campaign said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.