AUSTIN – Gov. Beto O’Rourke’s hopeful raised $ 27.63 million between Feb. 20 and June 30, the highest a Texas statewide candidate has ever raised in a reporting period. said his campaign on Friday.
With the money raised through the campaign, O’Rourke is still ahead of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The two-term GOP incumbent raised $ 24.9 million during the period, about $ 2.7 million less than the Democrat.
Although, even after recently dropping nearly $ 20 million to book ads for the fall, Abbott will report a June 30 cash balance of $ 45.74 million, his campaign said.
But O’Rourke’s large amount means he will be able to advertise steadily in the state’s 20 media markets this fall.
It also means O’Rourke is likely to have such a large budget for his current candidacy for governor as former Fort Worth Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis eight years ago. It raised nearly $ 40 million.
In one period, O’Rourke has raised nearly 15 times more than former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez throughout his 2018 gubernatorial bid ($ 1.86 million).
“We’re getting support from people all over Texas who want to work together to ensure that our state goes beyond Greg Abbott’s extremism and ultimately leads great jobs, world-class schools, the ability to see a doctor, keeping our children safe and protecting women’s freedom to make their own decisions about their own bodies, health care and the future, ”O’Rourke said in a written statement.
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Former Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who appeared as Abbott’s replacement at the Texas Democrats’ convention in Dallas, said supporters of far-left politics are funding O’Rourke.
When asked why O’Rourke outraged Abbott during the period, Bonnen said, “Because Beto O’Rourke is the beloved son of the Socialists in the United States and receives many small contributions from those who followed Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. “.
O’Rourke received more than 511,000 contributions, with an average contribution of $ 54, his campaign said.
Abbott’s campaign said he received less than 113,000 contributions during the period.
Texas Democrats have been burned out before after one of their candidates’ fundraising reports rekindled their optimism.
Related: Beto O’Rourke calls for a united Texas front to remove Greg Abbott as governor
In the latter half of 2013, Davis surpassed Abbott in revenue, between $ 12.2 million and $ 11.5 million. Following her previous summer’s abortion obstruction, she raised hopes she could end her party’s loss streak in Texas. Abbott, who had $ 27 million in cash in the same period Davis briefly outraged him, beat her by 20 percentage points.
Still, O’Rourke’s news gave his party a psychological boost.
“Beto has a good fundraising mechanism,” said former state Rep. Roberto R. Alonzo of Dallas, president of the Mexican American Democrats in Texas. Referring to the school massacre in late May in Uvalde, Alonzo said:
“Especially after what happened in Uvalde, Democrats have a reason to win and we will win.”
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Neither O’Rourke nor Abbott published their full report to the Texas Ethics Commission. Friday at midnight was the deadline for electronic filing.
As usual, for their press releases, both sides chose the good news.
O’Rourke highlighted how 98.9% of his contributions were made online. The occupation most often listed by O’Rourke’s donors was the teacher, his campaign said.
O’Rourke’s spokesman Chris Evans did not answer a question about what percentage of collaborators were residents in the state.
As for Abbott, as of June 2021, he has seen a fourfold increase in the number of contributions from the same period last year, his statement said.
“A total of nearly 332,500 donations, compared to just 77,733 contributions at the same time in 2018, came from all counties in Texas and all states in the nation, showing the powerful fundraising network that Governor Abbott has built during his term. time in office, “Abbott’s campaign said.
Related: Greg Abbott to Win Texas Governor’s Career Despite Uvalde Sentencing Abortion, Assistant Says
When asked to back up his claim on a record report, Evans, O’Rourke’s spokesman, said Abbott’s previous large fundraiser for a reporting period was 20 , $ 87 million, in the first six months of last year.
Abbott’s campaign spokesman Mark Miner when asked if $ 27.63 million is really the maximum a state candidate has raised in a reporting period, replied: “Just because they say it’s a fact no it means it is true “.
Miner, however, said he had no reason to dispute O’Rourke’s field claim.
“Resources will not be an issue in this race,” he said. “Everyone will have the resources to make a strong campaign.”
In 2018, O’Rourke raised more than $ 80 million when he nearly eliminated U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. The former El Paso congressman ran for president, unsuccessfully, next year. However, it has achieved widespread national follow-up.
Since announcing the governor’s job in November, O’Rourke has surprised observers with a disappointing initial fundraiser. It continued to have many small donors, but did not take advantage of Texas ’lack of limits on the size of contributions to state elections.
It won’t be clear until O’Rourke’s report is presented how many large donors it has attracted lately.
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On Wednesday, Abbott strategist Dave Carney had predicted that O’Rourke would report $ 30 million in contributions. Carney said he based the estimate on state fundraising activities that ActBlue, a progressive nonprofit political action committee, had already revealed.
On Friday, Abbott highlighted how the June 30 fundraising book does not reflect its prepayments for advertising and voters, and O’Rourke highlighted his volunteers.
“I am grateful to everyone who helped us raise $ 27.63 million in just over four months as we support the powerful work of our organizers and more than 78,000 volunteers,” O’Rourke said.
Gardner Pate, president of Abbott’s campaign, noted that last month he announced the realization of prepaid television, radio and digital advertising placements, including what he described as a record investment in Spanish-language media. .
Of the nearly $ 25 million Abbott raised during the period, nearly 86 percent came from Texas, his campaign said.
“Our campaign has also pre-purchased more than $ 20 million in advertising for the fall and has begun funding an extensive program of block walks to take voters to the polls this November,” Pate said.