Do you value our journalism? Rick Perry, worked to cultivate a wide base of financial support from energy interests, Rottinghaus said. But to build a better future for every Texan, I need your help. "The nearly 113,000 contributions illustrates that Gov. During that time same time period, Abbott's campaign said the two-term governor raised just under $25 million but didn't specify down to the decimal point. He has attacked the city of Austin repeatedly for reducing its police budget and repealing a ban on camping in public spaces that had generated thousands of citations to homeless people in the past. Through Nov. 30, even with federal fundraising constraints, Crenshaw in the last two-year cycle raised a whopping $19 million. Paddie has received thousands in contributions from these entities in election years, but never this amount immediately after a legislative session. The Abbott campaign is eyeing aggressive advertising strategies ahead of the November election. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization, 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800 Florida Gov. Greg Abbott campaign promises 'knock-out, drag-out fight' in race against Beto O'Rourke, according to January campaign finance reports, Governor's race tightens as Greg Abbott's lead over Beto O'Rourke shrinks to 6 points, poll finds, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Breaking down the contributions by ZIP code in Texas, ORourke received more money from donors in major cities, which are Democratic strongholds. On June 23, Warren cut a check to Abbott's campaign for $1 million, according to the governor's latest campaign finance filing, which covers January through June. The money came from159,000 total contributions with an average contribution of roughly $119, his campaign said Tuesday. He said the latest contributions of $25 million came from nearly 475,000 donors, making the average contribution $53. Greg Abbott raised $11.5 million from July through December, and now can brandish almost $38 million of cash as he tries to scare off opponents in his campaign for a third term next year. In addition, cryptocurrency CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who gave ORourke $1 million, is under investigation for breaking the states securities law. Find a complete list of them here. He loves being lieutenant governor and is not running against Gov. 2022 campaign season: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott raises almost $19 Million Energy Tycoon Kelcy Warren's Gave $1 Million to Greg Abbott Abbott compares to the 10 other governors with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022: The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Texas PACs submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission. We shouldnt be sure that theres going to be significant reform and regular citizens have to be pressuring their lawmakers, pressuring their state officials so that our voice gets heard as well as those people who are essentially wining and dining and giving money to the politicians, said Wheat, who added that the contributions are likely small compared to those some politicians receive from energy executives and energy-backed PACs. Sometimes it's hard to make apple-to-apple comparisons across some of the pages in a candidate's profile. Im grateful for everyone who helped raise $25.18 million in just three months as we support the work of our organizers and record-breaking 100,000 volunteers, said ORourke. But that wasnt always the case: In June 2021, Abbott had a campaign balance of over $55 million, and Abbott has spent almost twice as much money as his opponent, including a June ad buy worth nearly $20 million. Over that same short stretch in June, 11 prominent oil industry leaders, including billionaires Kelcy Warren, S. Javaid Anwar and Douglas Scharbauer all three whom could not be reached for comment combined to contribute about $3.2 million to Texas elected officials, up from about $2.2 million over the same period following the previous legislative session in 2019. On Friday, Texans for Greg Abbott announced in a press release the governor raised nearly $25 . That's four times more. In late June, it announced an $8.15 million digital media advertising buy, $8.8 million for TV and radio ads, and $2.75 million for Spanish media ads across platforms. FEC and listed quickly on OpenSecrets processing and analyzing the detailed records takes much longer. There is also a time lag in posting the information. Greg Abbott. Greg Abbott - Governor of Texas "In Texas, anything is possible. voters, researchers and others. In November, Republicans held their 83-67 majority in the Texas House, despite organizing efforts by ORourkes Powered by People group and millions of dollars in TV ads bought by national Democratic super PACs. The. He covers Gov. Abbott is a member of the Republican Party and first assumed office in 2015. His team called the haul a "record-breaking amount" and said "no Democratic campaign in the states history has raised more money during the opening days of their race.". Wheat criticized Abbotts decision last week to blame the power grids supply issues on frozen wind turbines. Second, we standardize the name of the donor's employer. parties and political committees request employer information from contributors and publicly report it when the ORourkes top donors come from industries including finance, media and philanthropy. OpenSecrets aggregates state data from many sources and formats. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year. Polling data suggests a large percentage of voters might agree with O'Rourke on increasing abortion access and gun reform. Walker, the chair of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and a former senior policy advisor to Abbott, contributed $7,620 to Texans for Greg Abbott from 2009 to 2015, state campaign records show. Ron DeSantis, viewed as the greatest GOP threat to former President Trump's 2024 White House campaign, is visiting Southern California this weekend to promote his new book and curry favor as he raises money for Republicans in conservative strong-holds. A Schwertner spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story. Slawson and Shaheen each received $150 last year, records show. How much have the candidates raised so far? A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Abbott's campaign stressed that since the start of 2021, the two-term Republican incumbent "has raised nearly $95 million from more than 418,000 donations." Since O'Rourke announced his. While (Gov. How has the candidates fundraising compared over time? Based on the Home - FollowTheMoney.org Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. Unprecedented: Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke edges Gov. Greg Abbott in More than a quarter of Hancocks contributions in June came from energy interests, about $53,500 the most he has ever received in a post-legislative session period. ORourkes Powered by People PAC gave $1.7 million to his own campaign. Kolten Parker is digital executive producer at KSAT. The amount of money the senator fundraised from energy interests jumped from $1,000 to $44,500, the Tribune found. All told, the candidates together have raised a combined $147 million, have spent almost $196 million and have a combined total of almost $8 million in their campaign coffers. Therell be a general election opponent, and [Democrats] will put a lot of effort in and theyll raise a lot of money.. Warren has given Abbott $250,000 donations almost every year since he won the governors office in 2014. However, both candidates have national profiles, with Abbott regularly appearing on Fox News and ORourke running for president in 2020. Cobos salary is $143,000. (An Abbott spokesman did not release the campaigns report for the second half of 2020, which is due at the Texas Ethics Commission on Friday.). The comments came during an appearance on Fox News. Get immediate access to organizations and people For permission to reprint for commercial uses, If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. State GOP Chairman Allen West heads most lists of possible challengers to Abbott in the March 2022 Republican primary, many of which also include former state Sen. Don Huffines. We dont take anything for granted, he said. About 26% of Patrick's contributions in June came from energy interests, more than $1.3 million, his most ever in the post-session stretch. Just 6%, or $1,141, of his overall campaign contributions in the brief June fundraising period after the 2015 legislative session came from the energy industry. ORourke received $2.2 million from Austin couple Simone Coxe, who has worked in communications, and Tench Coxe, a former venture capitalist. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. The Texas Tribune has been tracking contributions, expenditures and cash on hand for both candidates since ORourke officially entered the race in November last year. These generous contributions from people all across Texas show just how excited Texans are for this campaign, Abbott said in a statement. All other numbers in these Because Texas has no campaign finance contribution limits, its possible both candidates will accumulate and spend record-breaking amounts of campaign cash by Election Day. Kathy Hochul raked in big campaign bucks over the last six months to the tune of $21.9 million from a well of donors who also used to give generously to disgraced ex-Gov.. Robert T. Garrett, Austin Bureau Chief. The Past 30 Days column represents the last 30 days of donations, starting with the date of the most recent contribution for that race. Greg Abbott attacks Beto O'Rourke without mentioning him by name, $2 million raised during the first 24 hours, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. in the DFW area that need your help or can provide help during The oil and gas industry was Abbotts top contributor, accounting for 19% of all funds raised, according to the report. based on summary reports filed by the candidates with the Federal Election Commission. I wouldnt count him out., Last fall, Abbott gave money and shared his campaigns detailed voter information database with GOP hopefuls in several of the key Texas House contests. If enough contributions came in from people connected Show us with your support. Using previous figures reported by the Texas Ethics Commission, O'Rourke has now raised more than $65 million in what has become one of America's most expensive races of the 2022 midterms. Oil grew to become the states signature industry, rich oilmen and companies started showering politicians with money and a romance blossomed. Since the beginning of last year, Abbotts campaign has raised about $5.5 million from at least 17 billionaires and 3 spouses of billionaires. Carney also said that while O'Rourke focuses on abortion rights and restricting assault-style weapons, Abbott would continue to emphasize economic issues, including the high inflation rate. There was a series of finger-pointing and falsehoods from state elected officials who wouldn't accept responsibility and falsely shifted blame to renewable energy sources as they vowed to fix the grid. Abbott and ORourke are not the only gubernatorial candidates who have received backing from local Texas billionaires. Knowing those groups is also More:Governor's race tightens as Greg Abbott's lead over Beto O'Rourke shrinks to 6 points, poll finds. Just before the energy donations poured in for Abbott in June, the power grid operator asked Texans, mid-heat wave, to conserve power and turn their thermostats to 78 degrees for a week in order to reduce electricity demand because significant power generation was unexpectedly offline. Greg Abbott has $38M in his campaign bank, but is it enough to scare off 2022 challengers? Gov. A lot of things can happen. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Gov. However, Democratic challenger Beto ORourke reported raising $27.6 million from late February through June, which is the most a candidate for state office in Texas has ever raised in a single reporting period. Greg Abbott hauled in nearly $19 million over nine days and boasted an eye-popping $55 million in the bank as he prepares his campaign for a . At a time when newsroom resources and revenue across the country are declining, The Texas Tribune remains committed to sustaining our mission: creating a more engaged and informed Texas with every story we cover, every event we convene and every newsletter we send. Gov. Abbott Reports Raising $25M in Latest Campaign Report GOP accepted millions from oil and gas ahead of Texas primary Oil and gas taxes now boost the state budget. He helped raised $54 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states, Carney said. The state of Texas imposes no limits on how much money you can give to your local representative, your senator, your governor, said Wheat. contributions may be completely unrelated to the organization. Abbott received about $4.6 million from oil, gas and broader energy interests, his largest haul ever from those groups in the post-legislative session fundraising period following the four regular legislative sessions during Abbotts tenure as governor. Race for Texas governor: Energy industry's campaign contributions