If enough contributions came in from people connected Still, ORourke does have a few of his own billionaire supporters. Patrick, 70, has insisted he wants to stay where he is. Other billionaires with major oil and gas interests who are backing Abbott include Nancy Kinder, the wife of Kinder Morgan cofounder Richard Kinder; Hilcorp cofounder Jeff Hildebrand; Chief Oil & Gas founder Trevor Rees-Jones; Hunt Oil heir Ray Lee Hunt and Western Refining founder Paul Foster, who Abbott appointed to run the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in April last year. 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. Dan Patrick, after coming within 5 percentage points of the incumbent in 2018. Second, we standardize the name of the donor's employer. contributions may be completely unrelated to the organization. Showing these clusters of contributions from people associated with particular organizations provides a valuable Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton underscored how the gambling industry continues to covet a huge market now beyond its reach Texas, the . Greg Abbott raised almost $25 million during the same period, according to Friday press releases from both of the campaigns. Abbott so far has two challengers in the Republican primary. such as textbooks, contact OpenSecrets: info[at]crp.org. Of the donors, O'Rourke's campaign said 98% of the donations were received online and that teachers contributed more than any other occupation. More:Greg Abbott campaign promises 'knock-out, drag-out fight' in race against Beto O'Rourke. Data for Dan Patrick received millions in contributions from the energy industry, a new Texas Tribune report shows. Cobos salary is $143,000. From June 21 to June 30, after the legislative fundraising blackout ended, five of the largest and most prominent companies in the Texas power grid supply chain Calpine, Centerpoint, NRG Energy, Oncor and Vistra or their top executives collectively donated about $497,000 to state elected officials and political groups. However, Abbott s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak has attracted criticism from Democrats, independents and staunchly conservative Republicans, weakening his once-robust job approval ratings in public polls. We dont take anything for granted, he said. King, Slawson and Shaheen did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment for this story. Greg Abbott, gives an update on an investigation into the massacre in Uvalde, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. interest group. Fixing Texas power grid was about the only thing Republicans and Democrats in the legislative session seemed to agree on earlier this year. Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke has had $47,177,963 contributed to his campaign. Texas Gov. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for reelection, influence donor activity. Critics said this and other storm response bills spearheaded by these lawmakers also failed to provide direct assistance to people harmed by Februarys power crisis or to help Texans reduce electricity use to take pressure off the grid during extreme weather. OpenSecrets aggregates state data from many sources and formats. Dan Patrick, who has differences with Abbott, has never completely died out. the Coronavirus crisis. State Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, chair of the powerful state affairs committee in the House, was among those lawmakers. Gov. Abbotts: Oil mogul Javaid S. Anwar of Midland had given Abbott nearly $2.5 millionas well as $200,000 to Paxton. A lot of things can happen. The top donor, Greg Abbott, represents reported contributions received by Gov. In some cases, a cluster of contributions from people associated with the same organization may indicate a Greg Abbott speaks during a campaign event on February 23 in Houston. The data is made public by the Texas Ethics Commission. As CNBC reported, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer criticized Republicans in a speech on. The Republican governor raised 26% more in last years final six months than the $9.1 million he raised in late 2016 the comparable period in his first term. AUSTIN Gov. 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. We will secure the future of Texas." Email * Zip Code * Texas' energy interests are the biggest backers of his political rise, and he has not ruled out a White House run in 2024. The Abbott campaign said it has raised nearly $68 million since the campaign's start in June 2021. The storm, as bad as it was, helped him on his bottom line for contributions.. Note that the same amount appears on both the contributions and the expenditures side of the reported data. Texas Gov. However, Abbott has been a prolific fundraiser for years, which gave him the upper hand earlier in the race. Those Those donations have added up, bringing in about $9.7 million for Abbott and $37.8 million for ORourke. Billionaire money manager Ken Fisher, who lives in Dallas, donated $25,000 to Abbotts campaign, plus $100,000 to the Defend Texas PAC. UHs Cross said Abbott actually was straddling various state GOP factions long before 2020 and will continue to do so. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined. 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. ORourke, who only launched his campaign for governor in November last year, has raised just $61,000 from at least 2 billionaires and 3 spouses of billionaires. He knows how to walk that fine line between moderate Republicans and those that are very right of center, she said. After the Defenders reached out to Cobos seeking comment Tuesday, Jon Oliver, an OPUC spokesperson, called back and said he was unaware of any campaign contributions made to Abbott. As Gov. Together, we will make sure that Texas remains the best state to live, work, and raise a family. disclosures vary. Greg Abbott, who is heading into a re-election year. For his part, Patrick has been pushing the states politics to the rightsince his days as a talk radio host in Houston. FEC and listed quickly on OpenSecrets processing and analyzing the detailed records takes much longer. Abbott is running for re-election in 2022. As of Oct. 29, 2022, the overwhelming percentage of donations both candidates received are worth $200 or less. Dave Carney, Abbott's chief political strategist, said Wednesday that he expected O'Rourke to have strong fundraising numbers. 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. That has resulted in both candidates receiving a large number of donations from outside Texas. reason, summary numbers are usually higher (and more current) than the numbers based on detailed records. and formats. 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. available information, the donor is given an economic code. 2:28. Unsurprisingly, Gov. A bill proposed by San Antonio Republican state Rep. Lyle Larson in 2017 would have prohibited the governor from appointing a political donor to a position if he or she had contributed more than $2,500 in a year. In cases where two or more people from the same family contributed, the income-earner's occupation/employer is Given more time, Gov. 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. 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 . These tables list the top donors to officeholders in 2022. 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. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Outgoing Texas GOP Chairman Allen West and former state Senator Don Huffines of Dallas both accused the governor of not being conservative enough. This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. As Texas voters go to the polls next week, it is clear which candidate billionaires are backing in the . By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas. 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. The approach was a response to Democratic success in the 2018 midterms. 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. Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. 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 . 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. 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. On the expenditures side, Gov. 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. Here are the billionaire donors to Republican Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto ORourkes campaigns since January 2021, according to the latest Texas campaign finance filings. Referring to gun control stands by ORourke and the possibility the Texas Democrat could return to Washington, Carney said, Being Biden administration gun czar is not the best credential to use to run for anything in Texas.. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. But the bill didnt set a hard deadline for when the upgrades need to be complete and it stopped short of detailing how the state would enforce and incentivize the process called weatherization. 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. Caroline Covington contributed to this story. For the second straight reporting period, O'Rourke's campaign said they brought in more money than incumbent Republican Gov. George W. Bush was heavily funded by his familys well-established energy network, his successor, former Gov. 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. Still, in the 2019 legislative session, Abbott successfully appealed to GOP leaders and lawmakers to tend to bread-and-butter issues such as improving public schools and lowering property taxes. 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. A Texas Politics Project July poll indicates the race for Texas governor is tightening. ORourke received about 391,496 individual donations from outside the state, while Abbott received roughly 109,493. Because Texas doesnt have limits on contribution amounts, rich and powerful people can cut massive checks to campaigns. website. Rick Perry and Democrat Tony Sanchez spent in 2002 and the combined $90 million Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis spent in 2014. 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. A fifth-generation Texan, Bob earned a bachelors degree from Harvard University. The. AUSTIN 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. Greg Abbott, the state budget and CPS and foster care. sparring with one Abbott-appointed regulator on the senate floor. In Texas, Gov. In other cases, the reason for the 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. As Texas voters go to the polls next week, it is clear which candidate billionaires are backing in the gubernatorial primary: current Gov. 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. contributions from corporate PACs, employees and owners as well as their immediate families. ideological code, rather than an economic code, if the contributor gives to an ideological political action Oil and gas taxes now boost the state budget. And ORourke has over $500,000 more cash on hand than Abbott. Greg Abbott urges letting the vote counting play out in Trump-Biden race, How a Joe Biden win isnt necessarily bad news for Texas 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. The lag times vary for state officeholder data. 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. 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. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. Usually, state candidates in Texas get the majority of their donations from Texans. Abbott and ORourke have easily surpassed the combined $95 million Gov. The oil and gas industry was Abbotts top contributor, accounting for 19% of all funds raised, according to the report. Leading up to Abbotts decision, Lt. Gov. after the 20th of every month. The top California donors in the Texas governor's race, How the biggest Republican stronghold in Texas could cost Gov. Greg Abbott continued his legislative push for "parental empowerment" in Austin on Wednesday while also expressing support for a bill meant to keep local . 4 min read. 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. You may opt-out by, Source of wealth: Houston Rockets, entertainment, Source of wealth: Computer services, real estate, Source of wealth: Hyatt hotels, investments. Democrat Beto O'Rourke has raised $7.2 million since launching his campaign for Texas governor . He helped raised $54 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states, Carney said. Of the trio, King received the most contributions from Karnei by far: five between 2004 and 2016 totaling $475, according to TEC records. Kolten Parker is digital executive producer at KSAT. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, Visit us at Ballotpedia.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. 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. But Luthers star appears to have dimmed after she lost a special election for state Senate last month. Dan Patricks Senate. OpenSecrets A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 857-0044 INFO: info@crp.org 20005. Open Secrets following the money in politics, OpenSecrets Following the money in politics, Why (and How) We Use Donors' Employer/Occupation Information, Organization unavailable for these records. 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.. That's more than twice the $207,000 they gave during the same period when the legislative session ended in in 2019, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. state officeholders may be subject to longer time lags, as OpenSecrets aggregates this information from many sources Thats significantly more than former Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke. 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. Collier now has more money, a stronger team and a ground game that has pushed Patrick torun a more aggressive and public-facing campaignthan he ran four years ago. Greg Abbott - Texas Governor (R) Now showing data for the 2022 election year. Texans for Public Justice released this week, A bill proposed by San Antonio Republican state Rep. Lyle Larson in 2017. The figures in federal profiles are taken from databases uploaded by the FEC on the first day of every month. The totals, calculated by aggregating individual donations reported in those filings, do not include non-monetary or in-kind contributions. Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke has had $47,177,963 contributed to his campaign. Greg Abbott is the number one fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far. Speaking of donations he received from Texans in all 254 counties, Abbott said that with such help we will continue to spread the messages of freedom and liberty to every corner of the Lone Star State.. 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. ORourkes 2019 presidential run created some problems, she acknowledged. 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. Abbotts roster of rich donors is full of Texas Republicans with oil interestssome of who supported Trump ahead of the 2020 election. Rene Cross of the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs, though, said Abbotts most vulnerable to a test by a younger Democrat such as ORourke or the Castro brothers of San Antonio, Julin and Joaquin. These are the latest numbers ahead of Election Day. On Friday, Texans for Greg Abbott announced in a press release the governor raised nearly $25 . 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. 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. O'Rourke's latest haul includes $2 million raised during the first 24 hours of his campaign, collected frommore than 20,000 individual donors. Through Nov. 30, even with federal fundraising constraints, Crenshaw in the last two-year cycle raised a whopping $19 million. "I'm grateful for everyone who helped us raise $27.63. 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. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. concerted effort by that organization to "bundle" contributions to the candidate. Last Christmas, Governor Greg Abbott bussed and dumped migrant families in the freezing cold in Washington, D.C. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. He also received $1.5 million from billionaire George Soros, who is known for backing liberal candidates. During that week, Abbott assured Texans the grid was in better shape than ever. Warrens Energy Transfer cofounder Ray Davis gave $125,000 to Abbott. At the state level, corporations and unions can give directly to campaigns in many jurisdictions. Since the beginning of last year, Abbotts campaign has raised about $5.5 million from at least 17 billionaires and 3 spouses of billionaires. Warren spent more than $10 million to try to get Trump reelected in 2020. 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. with that same employer, the organization's name winds up on the Top Contributors list. The fifth payee, listed as Greg Abbott, represents reported expenditures a Gov. Democrats have not won a statewide office in three decades, but incumbent Republican Ken Paxton is deemed vulnerable because of his2015 felony indictment for securities fraudand unrelated accusations of corruption that his top aides took to the FBIin late 2020. But to build a better future for every Texan, I need your help. 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. 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. Dave Carney, Abbotts political strategist, said the governor is unperturbed by the volatile national political environment. Warren's company Energy Transfer declined to comment on his behalf. Patrick spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester said: No one has been tougher on the energy sector and more proactive for ratepayers this session than Lt. 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. 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. Learn more. However, her son, H. Ross Perot Jr., who is also a billionaire, has given $500,000 to Abbotts campaign. There is also a time lag in posting the information. Kolten Parker, Digital Executive Producer. Separate from discussion of the virus outbreak, some have wondered whether Houston-area GOP congressman Dan Crenshaw, whos seen nationally as a Republican comer, might jump into a race against Abbott. Abbott is tending to home state business, he noted. Before Abbott and O'Rourke can face off at the polls, both candidates must first win their respective March 1 primary races. Paddie received contributions from Oncor; Vistra, the states largest power generation company; and NuStar Political Action Committee, an oil and gas group. 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. 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. In addition, the top ZIP codes for both candidates are often those where political action committees are based. Abbott is a member of the Republican Party and first assumed office in 2015. He said the latest contributions of $25 million came from nearly 475,000 donors, making the average contribution $53. Greg Abbott during a roundtable discussion at the Texas Department of Public Safety headquarters in Austin on Jan. 21. . 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. His chemical logistics company serves the oil and gas industry, among others. Texas is already guaranteed record-setting spendingfor a governor's race this year, and the numbers keep climbing. The former El Paso congressman and presidential candidate is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly 30 years to win statewide office in Texas and to be the state's first Democratic governor since Ann Richards (1991-1995). 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. may affect those organizations or their industries. 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. Aug. 4, 20215 AM Central.