“I’m running to serve the people of Texas, and I want to make sure that we have a governor that serves everyone, helps to bring this state together to do the really big things before us and get past the small, divisive politics and policies of Greg Abbott,” O’Rourke told The Texas Tribune. “It is time for change. I want to serve this state and try to bring the people of Texas together to do some of the really big work that is before us and get past this smallness and divisiveness that Greg Abbott has brought to Texas.”

His 2018 U.S. Senate opponent welcomed him to the race Monday.

O’Rourke’s entry could be good news for Republicans overall, too, since millions of Democrat donor dollars will be thrown at his campaign instead of elsewhere around the U.S.

The 49-year-old ran unsuccessfully in 2018 against Sen. Ted Cruz, then made a disastrous presidential bid less than a year later, suspending his campaign more than three months before the Iowa caucuses.