Bank, his wife Matilda lists "Homemaker" and 12-year old Tammy shows up as "Student," OpenSecrets would identify all The rest of Abbott's campaign contributions for the 2020 election cycle are made up of moderate-to-large donations as well as small-dollar donors. Outgoing Texas GOP Chairman Allen West and former state Senator Don Huffines of Dallas both accused the governor of not being conservative enough. Unsurprisingly, Gov. Copyright 2023 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Political strife: The Texas Legislatures toughest 2021 challenges, A day after powerful thunderstorms, North Texas surveys the damage, 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home; suspect in custody, How a Texas districts reaction to school shooting fears highlights discipline concerns, Carrollton man advertised pills on social media to entice teens to buy fentanyl, feds say. In the Republican primary, Abbott is facing former state Sen. Don Huffines, former Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, Chad Prather,Danny Harrison, Kandy Kaye Horn, Paul Belew and Rick Perry (no, not that Rick Perry). Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined $160 million in the November midterm election. sparring with one Abbott-appointed regulator on the senate floor. How has the candidates fundraising compared over time? 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. The remaining figures - based on detailed contribution data - are updated by OpenSecrets In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Texas Gov. 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. 2022 campaign contributions: Who's backing Texas political candidates Democrat Beto O'Rourke hasraised $7.2 million since launchinghis campaign for Texas governor, according to his campaign. Robert T. Garrett, Austin Bureau Chief. Overall since 2014, Abbott has received about $30 million from oil, gas and other energy interests, which is about 18% of his $166 million total raised in that time. Race for Texas governor: Energy industry's campaign contributions Schwertner went from receiving 3% of his overall campaign contributions from the energy industry in the fundraising period after the 2015 legislative session to the industry making up about 32% of his contributions in 2021. O'Rourke is running in the Democratic primary and facesMichael Cooper, Joy Diaz, Inocencio Barrientez and Rich Wakeland. A Schwertner spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story. Since a deadly winter storm hit Texas earlier this month Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly heaped criticism on ERCOT, the operator of the states electric grid, claiming the entity was woefully unprepared for the dangerous weather that has killed a still-untold number of people. February winter storm: Campaign donations poured in after reform - WFAA And ORourke has over $500,000 more cash on hand than Abbott. He is an amateur triathlete, enjoys playing and watching soccer, traveling and hanging out with his wife. by Mitchell Ferman and Carla Astudillo Greg) Abbott is taking million-dollar checks from the CEOs who profited off of the grid collapse, were receiving support from people all over Texas who want to ensure that our state finally leads in great jobs, world class schools and the ability to see a doctor," O'Rourke said in a statement. Abbott has long been considered a prolific fundraiser and O'Rourke garnered a similar reputation during his 2018 bid for the U.S. Senate, when he raised more than $80 million for his campaign. Abbott, other Texas politicians got cash boost from energy industry motivation for each individual giver. Greg Abbott Top Contributors OpenSecrets And what you want to be able to do is have the ear of the lawmakers, said Andrew Wheat of Texans for Public Justice, an Austin non-profit that tracks money in Texas politics. Paddie has received thousands in contributions from these entities in election years, but never this amount immediately after a legislative session. Find a complete list of them here. Greg Abbott (R), who easily won the primary with more than 66% of the vote, is by far the largest beneficiary of the industry's political giving. 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. During that week, Abbott assured Texans the grid was in better shape than ever. All other numbers in these 2023 www.statesman.com. These tables list the top donors to officeholders in 2022. He covers Gov. Patrick, 70, has insisted he wants to stay where he is. Abbotts candidate committee from another committee affiliated with the governor. A lot of things can happen. Dan Patrick pressured Abbott in public statements that issues related to the grid needed to be on the agenda. In January, fracking billionaire Farris Wilks, who gained national attention when he poured $15 million into backing Ted Cruzs 2016 presidential bid, gave $2 million to a PAC called Defend Texas Liberty that donated $1 million to the campaign of Don Huffines, another candidate running in the Republican primary who is considered a long shot to win. In Texas, Gov. While (Gov. The Abbott campaign is eyeing aggressive advertising strategies ahead of the November election. Oil and gas taxes now boost the state budget. Texas governor election: Beto O'Rourke looks to put Greg Abbott on defense in early stages of Texas governor's race. These totals are conservative, as not all of the Greg Abbott - Wikipedia A report from Texans for Public Justice released this week found that Abbott raised more than $87 million in campaign contributions from the start of 2017 through the end of last year. American Airlines, flight attendants file for mediation during contract negotiations, New Uptown office tower lands second major lease, Years after North Texas bid for Amazons second headquarters, retail giant halts plan, Mesquite to become the site of new 2,500-home community, North Texas builders see influx of activity in new year, but challenges persist, Mark Wahlberg pours tequila for fans at Dallas restaurant during thunderstorm, Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving tandem clicks with joint 40-point displays in Mavs win vs. 76ers, Dallas Cowboys focused on adding another dynamic offensive weapon, Ex-Cowboys OC Kellen Moore opens up on Dallas departure, shows gratitude for Mike McCarthy, The Cowboys are closer than you think to a total makeover at running back, 12 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants that have closed in 2023. Democrat Beto O'Rourke has raised $7.2 million since launching his campaign for Texas governor . Greg Abbott, the state budget and CPS and foster care. Stressing a different approach, the O'Rourke campaign embarks Tuesday on a 49-day campaign tour through Texas that will involve driving more than 5,600 miles. There will be one last update in January with final fundraising numbers for the 2022 midterms. The storm, as bad as it was, helped him on his bottom line for contributions.. Democrat Beto O'Rourke announced he's running for governor of Texas and says he'll move past divisive politics and bring the state together. profiles for state and federal officeholders are derived from contribution records disclosed in campaign finance AUSTIN Gov. Texas is already guaranteed record-setting spendingfor a governor's race this year, and the numbers keep climbing. Abbott has run a similar playbook as Perry and has taken it to a different level, Rottinghaus said. This is a BETA experience. The Past 30 Days column represents the last 30 days of donations, starting with the date of the most recent contribution for that race. Gov. Abbott Vetoes Funding For State Legislature, - PJ Media Its the same people talking to the same people and you wonder if the people being left out are the average Texans, said Wheat. For that Democratic gubernatorial challenger Beto O'Rourke raised $27.3 million from Feb. 20 to June 30, while Republican Gov. ORourke, who has had significantly less time to fundraise compared to Abbott, reported raising $4.3 million from the beginning of the year to February 19, compared to Abbott, who raised $5.3 million in the same time frame. Greg Abbott raised almost $25 million during the same period, according to. Democrat Rochelle Garza, a former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, has struggled to fundraise at the levels needed to take on the well-funded and well-known incumbent. He helped raised $54 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states, Carney said. Texas Ethics Commission records, however, show that three of the 13 representatives on the House Committee on State Affairs have accepted contributions from ERCOT board member Clifton Karnei. We are going to defeat him and ensure Texas finally leads in great jobs, world-class schools, the ability to see a doctor, keeping our kids safe and restoring a womans freedom to make her own decisions about her own body.. 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. The O'Rourke campaign has not yet released how much cash on hand it has. the Coronavirus crisis. On Wednesday, Abbott underscored state Republicans delight that they held off the Democrats charge in the election immediately preceding a once-a-decade redistricting of political boundaries. Texas has no limits on campaign contributions. The other organizations on the list include law firms, teachers groups and liberal political action committees. databases are only as current as the FEC has been able to compile by that date (see the note above about lag times 2:28. But an analysis of state campaign finance records by the KSAT 12 Defenders shows three current members of ERCOTs board have contributed thousands to Abbotts campaigns, with some of the funds dating back to his days as Texas Attorney General. Greg Abbott, gives an update on an investigation into the massacre in Uvalde, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Gov. Abbott Reports Raising $25M in Latest Campaign Report Other ERCOT board members are listed in TEC records as having contributed to several energy-related PACs. And talk of a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Board member Mark Carpenter, a senior vice president with Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery, has contributed $10,000 to Texans for Greg Abbott, Abbotts campaign war chest, since October 2018. On ORourkes campaign they added, This is a grassroots campaign funded largely by the people of Texasnot the select few who know they can buy Abbott off.. assigned to all non-wage earning family members. "The nearly 113,000 contributions illustrates that Gov. Texas Governor Greg Abbott's 2019 reelection inaugural was a 2-day event that included balls, candlelight dinners, barbecues and other VIP events -- costing some $5.3 million for the celebrations. Democrat Mike Collier gets his rematch with incumbent Lt. Gov. However, his $7.7 million haul in the first half of 2020 was a nearly 12% decrease from the same phase of his initial term. Note that the same amount appears on both the contributions and the expenditures side of the reported data. Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit OpenSecrets. Dozens of donations in quantities like $100,000, $50,000, and $25,000 and page after page of $10,000 donations poured in over the course of the election cycle from individuals and PACs alike.