Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is battling incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the state's top office, announced on Sunday that he will be off the campaign trail indefinitely after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection, The Texas Tribune reported.
"While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors' recommendations," O'Rourke wrote in a tweet. "I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but promise to be back on the road with you as soon as I am able."
O'Rourke added that "after feeling ill on Friday, I went to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio where I was diagnosed with a bacterial infection."
The candidate had been in the midst of a 49-day campaign tour, during which he had scheduled to hold approximately 70 public events and travel more than 5,600 miles, according to The Texas Tribune.
His campaign declined to provide any more details regarding his infection or when O'Rourke would go back to the campaign trail.
Although O'Rourke is trailing Abbott in the polls, he has built a following in Republican-heavy Texas much larger than any other Democrat in a generation, according to CNN.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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