Robert Francis ‘Beto’ O’Rourke is trying to sound like a moderate on immigration. He’s trying to distance himself from Joe Biden. And he’s embracing his,  “Hell Yes, We’re Going to Take Your AR-15″ message at a time when gun sales are dramatically soaring.

It’s a hell of a strategy.

Asked by co-host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” if he would stand by his vow if elected governor of Texas, O’Rourke said, “I still hold this view.”

“Look, we are a state that has a long, proud tradition of responsible gun ownership. And most of us here in Texas do not want to see our friends, our family members, our neighbors shot up with these weapons of war. So yes, I still hold this view,” O’Rourke said.

There was widespread speculation at the time that O’Rourke had killed his political future in Texas with this failed bid at the Democrat presidential nomination. (Unlike Buttigieg and Kamala, he came out of it with nothing.)

O’Rourke had previously tried to claim, “to be clear, I’m not talking about confiscating anybody’s guns” which is a little confusing when you’re shouting, “Hell Yes, We’re Going to Take Your AR-15.” But has there ever been a case of a politician saying, “let me be clear” that was anything but an attempt to muddy the waters with some desperate spin?

Now O’Rourke has to navigate a Dem primary, so he’s sticking by his we’re gonna take your guns routine, only, if he wins, to pivot back during the general election. 

Abbott’s numbers aren’t good (a common problem for executives at every level at a time when people are angry over the general state of affairs), but nobody especially likes O’Rourke who’s another perennial wannabe JFK candidate. While fellow hipster Jon Ossoff was able to ride Warnock and Zuckerberg’s coattails in Georgia after an election that saw Dems feeling confident and Republicans anything but, that’s not what the electoral landscape is shaping up to be. At least ‘Beto’ can burn up a whole lot of California dot come cash on his bid.