Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) will resume his presidential campaign on Thursday after a 12-day break in which he returned to his hometown of El Paso, Texas, to meet with residents after a mass shooting there left 22 people dead.

The campaign said in a statement that O’Rourke on Thursday will give a speech in El Paso outlining “the path forward for his presidential campaign and for the future of the country.” The Texas Democrat will return to the campaign trail following the speech, although it’s unclear where he intends to go first.

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O’Rourke has been meeting with families of victims and residents in El Paso since the Aug. 3 shooting.

He has blamed President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE for inspiring the massacre, saying the president’s rhetoric toward immigrants motivated the suspected killer, who allegedly posted a manifesto before the shootings that talked about a Hispanic “invasion.”

O’Rourke has called Trump a “white supremacist” and questioned whether the people who voted for him are also racist.

His return to the campaign trail comes about a month before the next presidential debate in Houston. O’Rourke and eight other candidates have qualified for that debate, although the Texas Democrat has otherwise struggled to gain traction in the White House race.

This week, the Houston Chronicle ran an op-ed imploring the former congressman to abandon his presidential bid and instead to run for Senate against Sen. John Cornyn John CornynQuinnipiac polls show Trump leading Biden in Texas, deadlocked race in Ohio The Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Liberal super PAC launches ads targeting vulnerable GOP senators over SCOTUS fight MORE (R-Texas), who is up for reelection.

O’Rourke electrified Texas Democrats and rose to national prominence by nearly unseating Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Texas) in 2018, but his presidential run has so far been a disappointment.

A RealClearPolitics average of polls has O'Rourke in sixth place in the crowded field of Democratic White House hopefuls with a polling average of 2 percent.

"Drop out of the race for president and come back to Texas to run for senator," the Chronicle wrote. "The chances of winning the race you’re in now are vanishingly small. And Texas needs you."

"Imagine the effect you could have on our state. Ideas get sharper when they’re challenged, when points of view clash. We think Texas will get smarter, and its politics more sophisticated, if campaigns here were a true test of ideas, not one-sided races set to autopilot."