HOUSTON — Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke was in Houston Thursday for his "college tour," where his goal is to grab the attention of the state's young adults ahead of the November election.
After speaking to students at Rice University, O'Rourke sat down with KHOU 11 anchor Len Cannon to discuss several different topics, including border patrol, gun control and abortion.
O'Rourke is swimming against a swift political current as he runs for governor of Texas. A democrat hasn't won a statewide race in this state in more than 30 years.
He believes the current will change in his favor by reaching out to young voters.
"I think they are the margin of victory," O'Rourke told Cannon.
Abortion in Texas
Cannon asked O'Rourke if he understood the argument from many people, men and women, who said they want to protect the rights of the unborn.
"I absolutely do," O'Rourke replied. "And I would never attempt to persuade someone to do anything that was against their faith or their beliefs or what they know to be true. But what I also know is that 85% of our fellow Texans disagree with Greg Abbott's extreme abortion ban," he said.
O'Rourke said Roe v. Wade is a standard he believes Texas should return to, a standard he said was originally set by Texas women.
"That is something Texas women have decided that they should be able to make personal, private, very often painful decisions on their own without government intervention," O'Rourke said.
Gun control
O'Rourke has been very vocal about wanting to raise the minimum age to buy an assault rifle in Texas after the Uvalde school shooting.
"Twenty-three days after the horrific shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Florida, 23 days, the Republican governor and legislature raised the age to 21. Since then, mass shootings with weapons of war have declined," said Beto.
"Beto, that's Florida. In Texas, you know what the feelings are about raising the age. How are you going to convince a legislature to do that?" Cannon asked.
"Most Texans agree with that. And my point about Florida is there's nothing about being a Republican that precludes you from common sense and doing the right thing at the right time," O'Rourke responded.
Border patrol and immigration
O'Rourke was asked what he would do to stop the mass immigration at the border.
"We're going to focus on solutions instead of stunts. So, no more of this bussing or building a mile and a half of a border wall. I want to work with Republicans and Democrats and whatever administration happens to be in power, Democrat or Republic, in D.C. to make sure that we have, for example, a Texas-based guest worker program," O'Rourke said.
He also mentioned lifting the cap on visas.
"We have a process by which you come into this country to become legal. What is wrong with the process?" Cannon asked.
"If you're coming here from Mexico or India or the Philippines and you want to join a family member, the wait time is 20 years to date. Now it doesn't condone anyone breaking the law, but I understand why people might not want to wait two decades to work a job here in Houston and find an employer who can sponsor you, navigate the bureaucracy, pay the price. Too many aren't willing or unable to do that," O'Rourke said. "What if we address that through a Texas-based guest worker program."
O'Rourke answered more questions in his interview with Cannon. You can watch the interview in its entirety in the video below.