Beto O’Rourke diagnosed with bacterial infection; no timeline on campaign return

Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke said on Sunday that he’s been diagnosed with a bacterial infection, two days after cutting a book signing in San Antonio short because he was feeling ill.

O’Rourke said doctors at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio diagnosed him with the infection and treated him with IV antibiotics.

“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 statement. “I am sorry to have had to postpone events because of this, but promise to be back on the road as soon as I am able.”

The sickness comes as O’Rourke was in the middle of a 49-day campaign that was supposed to take him to more than 65 counties in Texas. He will face Gov. Greg Abbott in the general election on Nov. 8.

The Democrat held two virtual events Monday night for the statewide launches of Black Texans for Beto and Latinos con Beto, which featured actress and Texan Eva Longoria and labor leader Dolores Huerta. During the Black Texans event, he said he was getting better and added: “I hope to be back on the trail again very soon.”

O’Rourke did not give a timeline for his return to the campaign trail. Four scheduled stops, including one Sunday in Goliad, will be rescheduled.

His campaign website is still accepting RSVPs for a Wednesday event in Brooks County, near the Texas-Mexico border.