Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke announced on Sunday that he had cleared his campaign schedule after receiving treatment at a San Antonio hospital for an unspecified bacterial infection.
In a statement tweeted by his campaign and quoted by The Associated Press, O’Rourke said he sought treatment at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio after feeling ill Friday.
Intravenous antibiotic infusions improved his symptoms, O'Rourke said.
"While my symptoms have improved, I will be resting at home in El Paso in accordance with the doctors' recommendations," he said. "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 continues to trail incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in opinion polls before the Nov. 8 general elections.
O’Rourke sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination but suspended his campaign on November 1, 2019. He later endorsed Joe Biden, who ended up winning the nomination and later the presidential election.
During his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, O’Rourke caused an uproar when he appeared to suggest that then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racist.
Speaking in Iowa City, O’Rourke stated that the relationship between the US and Israel must transcend “a prime minister who is racist.” Asked in if his criticism of Netanyahu risked alienating supporters of Israel, O’Rourke drew a distinction between support for Israel and support for Netanyahu.
He also asserted that Netanyahu does not represent either the best interests of the US-Israel relationship or a path to peace in the region.
A month earlier, O'Rourke accused the Israeli leader of “openly siding with racists” and using anti-Arab demagoguery in the 2015 Knesset election.
Despite those comments, O’Rourke congratulated Netanyahu on his reelection in April of 2019.