Abbott received $4.6 million from energy. Both candidates have received more campaign cash from ZIP codes where wealthier people live because thats who tends to give money to politicians on both sides of the aisle. 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. Abbott and ORourke are not the only gubernatorial candidates who have received backing from local Texas billionaires. Gov. Although individual contributions are generally categorized based on the donor's occupation/employer, in some cases Those donations included $1 million from Warren, cofounder of a pipeline company that made $2.4 billion from the winter storm, according to a report from Bloomberg. Join us Sept. 20-25 at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival. contributor provides it. So although an Abbott campaign news release touted the $19.2 million he raised last year, it was just an 8% increase over the $17.8 million he raised in 2016. A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization, 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800 The data is made public by the Texas Ethics Commission. Because Texas doesnt have limits on contribution amounts, rich and powerful people can cut massive checks to campaigns. 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. Thats significantly more than former Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke. Find a complete list of them here. Slawson and Shaheen each received $150 last year, records show. All rights reserved. contributions may be completely unrelated to the organization. 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. According to its website, OPUC represents the interests of residential and small commercial consumers, as a class, in utility proceedings in Texas. Abbotts biggest individual donors have always come from the energy industry, and this time is no exception, with energy tycoons making up 40% of his top 10 donors. More:Greg Abbott campaign promises 'knock-out, drag-out fight' in race against Beto O'Rourke. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. But none has reaped campaign contributions on the scale of Abbott, who in six years in office has raised more than $150 million from donors, more than any governor in U.S. history. "I'm grateful for everyone who helped us raise $27.63. Im grateful for 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 in the release. He also received $1.5 million from billionaire George Soros, who is known for backing liberal candidates. George W. Bush was heavily funded by his familys well-established energy network, his successor, former Gov. Among the state lawmakers Karnei has contributed to are representatives Shelby Slawson, Phil King and Matt Shaheen, all Republican members of the committee now charged with investigating ERCOT. individuals may be classified instead as ideological donors. Democrat Mike Collier gets his rematch with incumbent Lt. Gov. Among elected officials holding the same level of state office, fundraising varies widely. by Mitchell Ferman and Carla Astudillo That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. This is up from 19% after the 2019 session. ORourke and Abbott will compete separately in their own party primaries on March 1, but many are already looking ahead to a general election between the former Democratic House representative and the current Republican governor. For a time, there was buzz about Shelley Luther, who catapulted to fame for reopening her Dallas hair salon in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions. Neither Cobos or the spokesperson ended up providing a statement for this story. Most of Patrick's energy industry money received in June was driven by oil executives. Gov. The leading two candidates for Texas governor each pulled in about $25 million in campaign contributions during the summer, with a slight edge going to Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke who reported 10 times as many donors. Abbott said 81% of his donors were from Texas. The top donor, Greg Abbott, represents reported contributions received by Gov. The twisted roots between the oil and gas industry and Texas lawmakers is almost as old as the Capitol building itself, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. These are the latest numbers ahead of Election Day. He knows how to walk that fine line between moderate Republicans and those that are very right of center, she said. In April, Abbott had been ahead of O'Rourke by 11 points. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. In addition, cryptocurrency CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who gave ORourke $1 million, is under investigation for breaking the states securities law. O'Rourke is running in the Democratic primary and facesMichael Cooper, Joy Diaz, Inocencio Barrientez and Rich Wakeland. According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Texas Ethics Commission, the governor received $44,778,653 in total contributions and spent $37,930,300 between January 1, 2021 and February 19, 2022. Warren's donation is . Patricks calls came after he tried to assert himself prominently in responding to the winter storm by demanding leadership changes at state regulatory agencies and sparring with one Abbott-appointed regulator on the senate floor. Abbott raises $19 million, Beto O'Rourke's fast start nets $7.2 million in race for governor. A Schwertner spokesperson did not respond to questions for this story. We dont take anything for granted, he said. Patrick is in the middle of a131-stop bus tour across Texas, while Collier continues totout his alliances with moderateRepublicans who are endorsing him over the incumbent. Organizations like political action committees or industry associations can also give directly to candidate campaigns. More broadly, Governor Abbotts political committee, Texans For Greg Abbott, has built up a massive war chest of donations, from billionaires and many other donors, which hell be able to take into the general election if he wins his race on March 1. That said, she fully supports Governor Abbotts decision to declare the grid event an emergency item for the Legislatures attention and is fully committed, along with her fellow commissioners, to engaging in the legislative inquiry on the way to understanding what factors collided with a natural disaster to cause the outages. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. 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. Energy officials have repeatedly said that the states natural gas supply was also hindered by the storm, in large part because energy plants did not have properly winterized equipment. 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. The money came from159,000 total contributions with an average contribution of roughly $119, his campaign said Tuesday. Officials with ERCOT, which ordered local utility companies to shed load from the power grid as energy demand exceeded supply, are expected to answer questions during the hearing. Greg Abbott continued his legislative push for "parental empowerment" in Austin on Wednesday while also expressing support for a bill meant to keep local . Note that Paxtons top donor is the same as Gov. state officeholders may be subject to longer time lags, as OpenSecrets aggregates this information from many sources "As we move into the heat of the summer campaign, were well positioned to fund all our campaign efforts, Texans for Greg Abbott Campaign Chairman Gardner Pate said in the Friday release. the first of the month. Other ERCOT board members are listed in TEC records as having contributed to several energy-related PACs. Absent that storm, his contributions would have been different, said Bill Miller, a longtime Texas political consultant and lobbyist. Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined. Nearly half (45%) of the 1,200 Texas voters who participated in the poll indicated support for Abbott while 39% showed support for O'Rourke. Still, University of North Texas political scientist Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha said Abbotts $38 million will scare off most of the competition.. Therell be a general election opponent, and [Democrats] will put a lot of effort in and theyll raise a lot of money.. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. During the same stretch after the two subsequent legislative sessions in 2017 and 2019, fewer than 9% of Paddies contributions came from energy interests. ORourke received about 391,496 individual donations from outside the state, while Abbott received roughly 109,493. That far exceeds the $6.8 million in cash on hand that ORourkes committee, Beto For Texas, reported as of the same date. While some of this money. Since then, ORourke received four major fundraising bumps: one right after the primary election; one after he confronted Abbott at a press conference following the school shooting in Uvalde in late May; one after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in late June; and one at the end of September, a couple of weeks ahead of the voter registration deadline. individual contributions have yet been classified by OpenSecrets. motivation for each individual giver. Greg Abbott is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping Texas on Feb. 13, 2021. shifted blame to renewable energy sources, significant power generation was unexpectedly offline, Abbott assured Texans the grid was in better shape than ever. The data presented here is sourced from the Texas Ethics Commission, which displays campaign finance filings from candidate committees. Of the trio, King received the most contributions from Karnei by far: five between 2004 and 2016 totaling $475, according to TEC records. A Crenshaw aide, though, said hes not thinking about running for governor. ideological code, rather than an economic code, if the contributor gives to an ideological political action 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. 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 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. Texas Gov. Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke has had $47,177,963 contributed to his campaign. 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. Some of the state data included errors in the address field; these records were corrected when possible such as when the donors address was available elsewhere in the data set and omitted from the location-based calculations when not. Texas Gov. If recent historys any guide, by November 2022, which will be Bidens first midterm election, Democrats may not be riding so high, he noted. A spokesperson for Abbott told the Defenders via email, Governor Abbott has made the reform of ERCOT an emergency item and has assured the public we will not leave this session without reforming the entity.. Here's But were looking at almost two years until our election. Democrat Beto O'Rourke has raised $7.2 million since launching his campaign for Texas governor . 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. parties and political committees request employer information from contributors and publicly report it when the Billionaire money manager Ken Fisher, who lives in Dallas, donated $25,000 to Abbotts campaign, plus $100,000 to the Defend Texas PAC. Updated: Feb. 10, 2023. Abbott is bought and paid for by his billionaire donors, a spokesperson for ORourkes campaign told Forbes in an email. UHs Cross said Abbott actually was straddling various state GOP factions long before 2020 and will continue to do so. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions. Had the bill passed, Walker would not be running the PUC. "The nearly 113,000 contributions illustrates that Gov. Of all the statewide elections in Texas, the attorney generals race is expected to be the most competitive. Show us with your support. Together, we will make sure that Texas remains the best state to live, work, and raise a family. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. 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. The two-term governor is one of the most prolific GOP fundraisers in the country and had previously reported raising more than $30 million through the first half of the year and said Tuesday his campaign has now raised $95 million during the current election cycle from more than 418,000 contributors. 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. How much have the candidates raised so far? This past Valentine's Day, Texas Senator Drew Springer filed HB 923, delivering . About 26% of Patricks contributions in June came from energy interests, more than $1.3 million, his most ever in the post-session stretch. Last Christmas, Governor Greg Abbott bussed and dumped migrant families in the freezing cold in Washington, D.C. For the second straight reporting period, O'Rourke's campaign said they brought in more money than incumbent Republican Gov. 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. After the 2021 regular legislative session, energy industry donations totaling $26,000 for the period made up 88% of Paddies campaign contributions over just the last 10 days of June. His campaign accepted more than $12 million in political contributions from oil and gas companies and executives this election cycle. 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. ORourkes 2019 presidential run created some problems, she acknowledged. The totals, calculated by aggregating individual donations reported in those filings, do not include non-monetary or in-kind contributions. A lot of things can happen. Not long after, Abbott released a list of issues lawmakers needed to address in July during a special-called legislative session. His largest billionaire donor so far is Margot Birmingham Perot, the widow of former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot Sr. Shes given $25,000 to ORourkes campaign since November. Gov. Kolten Parker, Digital Executive Producer. 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. Greg Abbott. In addition, Abbott has received donations from deep-pocketed donors in the real estate industry like Edward Roski Jr., president of Majestic Realty in California, who gave $1.5 million, as well as three donations of $1 million each from supporters in finance and casinos. The warnings led to renewed calls for the Legislature to take more urgent action to fix the power grid. Texas is already guaranteed record-setting spendingfor a governor's race this year, and the numbers keep climbing. Greg Abbott raised almost $25 million during the same period, according to Friday press releases from both of the campaigns. DeSantis, who frequently tangles . However, Abbott has been a prolific fundraiser for years, which gave him the upper hand earlier in the race. Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit OpenSecrets. Greg Abbott said his campaign raised nearly $19 million in the last six months of 2021, a total that brought his campaign war chest to a staggering $65 million in December. 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. In Texas, Gov. Texas doesnt limit political giving, with no caps on individual contributions for candidates for state office. grand total of contributions Greg Abbott has reported in 2022Number of Contributions from Individuals (above itemization threshold): 292,180. Greg Abbott. Abbott is running for re-election in 2022. website. Both are from Dallas. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. Rick Perry, worked to cultivate a wide base of financial support from energy interests, Rottinghaus said. Gas producers got a pass by Texas policymakers, said Michael Webber, professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin. 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. Visit us at Ballotpedia.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. The Past 30 Days column represents the last 30 days of donations, starting with the date of the most recent contribution for that race. Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined $160 million in the November midterm election. The other organizations on the list include law firms, teachers groups and liberal political action committees. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. While former Gov. Abbott hasnt detailed what he wants the Republican-controlled Legislature, which convened Tuesday, to accomplish this year. 4 min read. Gov. The O'Rourke campaign said nearly all of the more than 511,000 contributions to the campaign, at an average of $54, came from online donors and that teachers contributed more than people from any other occupation. Florida Gov. This gives us time to analyze the contributions and categorize them by industry and During that week, Abbott assured Texans the grid was in better shape than ever. Greg Abbott's 2022 reelection campaign is reporting contributions of 19-million-dollars in the last nine days of June. Except for the Revolving Door section, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License by OpenSecrets.org. Here is how fundraising by Texas Gov. This past Valentine's Day, Texas Senator Drew Springer filed SB 923, delivering on Abbott's reelection campaign goal to deny undocumented children access to public education unless the . The fifth payee, listed as Greg Abbott, represents reported expenditures a Gov. 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 . Were talking about a historic blackout in the state of Texas, that affected millions of peoples lives, some in very dangerous ways, said Wheat. AUSTIN Gov. with that same employer, the organization's name winds up on the Top Contributors list. 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. Beto O'Rourke looks to put Greg Abbott on defense in early stages of Texas governor's race, Ahead of primary, Gov. In the November race for Texas governor, two prolific fundraisers are vying to be the chief executive of the state. 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.". Texas elected officials cant receive campaign donations during the session, but after it ended in May, they were showered in cash by the energy industry even more than usual for a group known for its deep pockets and generous campaign giving. available information, the donor is given an economic code. Note that the same amount appears on both the contributions and the expenditures side of the reported data. The comments came during an appearance on Fox News. A PUC spokesman instead sent the following statement: Dillon, responding on Chairman Walkers behalf as shes still fully engaged in issues related to the winter storm related grid event. FEC and listed quickly on OpenSecrets processing and analyzing the detailed records takes much longer. Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke shatter fundraising records in the Texas governor's race, see who has been donating to candidates with this campaign finance interactive.. With this tracker . Texas governor election: Beto O'Rourke looks to put Greg Abbott on defense in early stages of Texas governor's race. Copyright 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. Last year, Abbott wouldve raised more if hed been able to hold in-person fundraisers and hadnt been busy as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Carney said. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. ORourkes top donors come from industries including finance, media and philanthropy. Democratic gubernatorial challenger Beto O'Rourke raised $27.3 million from Feb. 20 to June 30, while Republican Gov. A contribution to a candidate may be given an A spokesperson for Oncor said the company believes in actively participating in the political process. CenterPoint said: In this case, CenterPoint Energy Political Action Committee made public contributions to support members of the Texas Legislature who had announced their intention to run for re-election, regardless of party affiliation. A Calpine representative said its CEO, who made up the bulk of contributions tied to the company, donated money as he develops relationships with these members directly. The other two companies did not respond to requests for comment. Under federal law, all contributions over $200 must be itemized and the donor's occupation and employer must be A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. In other cases, the reason for the Just over 40% of the sum of ORourkes donations came from out-of-state donors, compared with 17% of Abbotts. Rick Perry and Democrat Tony Sanchez spent in 2002 and the combined $90 million Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis spent in 2014.