The storm, as bad as it was, helped him on his bottom line for contributions.. The epic Texas freeze fueled a surge of campaign cash, with the war chest of Gov. Leading up to Abbotts decision, Lt. Gov. Oliver told KSAT that he was also unaware of any recent criticism levied toward ERCOT by Abbott. Crenshaw, 36, is almost as renowned a fundraiser as Abbott, 63. 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. Here's how much. interest group. That far exceeds the $6.8 million in cash on hand that ORourkes committee, Beto For Texas, reported as of the same date. Those Abbott hasnt detailed what he wants the Republican-controlled Legislature, which convened Tuesday, to accomplish this year. Texas is already guaranteed record-setting spendingfor a governor's race this year, and the numbers keep climbing. UHs Cross said Abbott actually was straddling various state GOP factions long before 2020 and will continue to do so. Abbotts roster of rich donors is full of Texas Republicans with oil interestssome of who supported Trump ahead of the 2020 election. ABBOTT, GREG - FollowTheMoney.org 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. 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. Abbott's Chart-Topping Donors for 2020 - Transparency USA Because Texas doesnt have limits on contribution amounts, rich and powerful people can cut massive checks to campaigns. His chemical logistics company serves the oil and gas industry, among others. The oil and gas industry was Abbotts top contributor, accounting for 19% of all funds raised, according to the report. Greg Abbott speaks during a campaign event on February 23 in Houston. All rights reserved, Texas House Plans to Pass Largest Property Tax Decrease Ever,' Speaker Phelan Says, Texas Republicans to Vote on Resolution That Would Censure Rep. Tony Gonzales, 3 Children Killed, 2 Wounded in Ellis County Home; 1 in Custody: Sheriff, Actor Tom Sizemore, of Saving Private Ryan,' Dies at 61. Sometimes it's hard to make apple-to-apple comparisons across some of the pages in a candidate's profile. He gave $1 million to Abbotts campaign in June 2021. Abbotts candidate committee from another committee affiliated with the governor. Abbott so far has two challengers in the Republican primary. 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. Through Nov. 30, even with federal fundraising constraints, Crenshaw in the last two-year cycle raised a whopping $19 million. Greg Abbott, who is heading into a reelection year in 2022, benefited most from the flood of June campaign donations from the energy industry. 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. As Texas voters go to the polls next week, it is clear which candidate billionaires are backing in the . Before Abbott and O'Rourke can face off at the polls, both candidates must first win their respective March 1 primary races. 2022 campaign season: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott raises almost $19 Million Polling data suggests a large percentage of voters might agree with O'Rourke on increasing abortion access and gun reform. Cobos was appointed chief executive and public counsel of the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC) by Abbott in March 2019, three months after donating $1,050 to Abbotts campaign, state contribution records show. To request permission for commercial use, please contactus. As a Republican and a Texan, Abbott may have received significant campaign contributions from the NRA. Greg Abbott. O'Rourke at that time had raised $7.2 million while Abbott raised nearly $19 million in the last six months of 2021, according to January campaign finance reports. The amount of money the senator fundraised from energy interests jumped from $1,000 to $44,500, the Tribune found. 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. These tables list the top donors to officeholders in 2022. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. On the expenditures side, Gov. 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. Abbott received $4.6 million from energy. 2023 www.statesman.com. The approach was a response to Democratic success in the 2018 midterms. 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. grand total of contributions Greg Abbott has reported in 2022Number of Contributions from Individuals (above itemization threshold): 292,180. 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. The totals, calculated by aggregating individual donations reported in those filings, do not include non-monetary or in-kind contributions. In cases where two or more people from the same family contributed, the income-earner's occupation/employer is Therell be a general election opponent, and [Democrats] will put a lot of effort in and theyll raise a lot of money.. Heading into the 2022 campaign season, Gov. Still, ORourke does have a few of his own billionaire supporters. Texans deserve answers about why these shortfalls occurred and how they are going to be corrected, and Texans will get those answers.. 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. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions. 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. 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. Abbott's support comes from a wide variety of Texans all across the Lone Star State." O'Rourke's haul came from 511,000 donors, with. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. 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. "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. However, Abbott has been a prolific fundraiser for years, which gave him the upper hand earlier in the race. 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. Greg Abbott raised almost $25 million during the same period, according to. 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. In the November race for Texas governor, two prolific fundraisers are vying to be the chief executive of the state. 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. Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren is one of Abbotts top donors. First, we apply a code to the contribution, identifying the industry. Is Dallas becoming unaffordable due to rising housing costs, inflation and stagnating pay? the Coronavirus crisis. Heres how they compare. profiles for state and federal officeholders are derived from contribution records disclosed in campaign finance 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. 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. And ORourke has over $500,000 more cash on hand than Abbott. Greg Abbott speaks during a campaign event on February 23 in Houston. Find a complete list of them here. 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. Abbotts: Oil mogul Javaid S. Anwar of Midland had given Abbott nearly $2.5 millionas well as $200,000 to Paxton. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 50th attorney general of Texas from 2002 to 2015 and as a member of the Texas Supreme Court from 1996 to 2001.. Abbott was the third Republican to serve as attorney general of Texas since the . That is why Congress and many states have mandated that candidates, political why: Summary numbers for federal officeholders - specifically "Total Raised and Spent" and "PAC/Individual Split" - are O'Rourke's latest haul includes $2 million raised during the first 24 hours of his campaign, collected frommore than 20,000 individual donors. 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.. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. A fifth-generation Texan, Bob earned a bachelors degree from Harvard University. Neither Cobos or the spokesperson ended up providing a statement for this story. Energy Industry Showers Gov. Greg Abbott, Other Texas Politicians - TPR 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. Greg Abbott raised almost $25 million during the same period, according to Friday press releases from both of the campaigns. 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. In some cases, a cluster of contributions from people associated with the same organization may indicate a Under federal law, all contributions over $200 must be itemized and the donor's occupation and employer must be As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. 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. Texas Gov. contributions may be completely unrelated to the organization. The data is from the period between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 29, 2022. Abbott is tending to home state business, he noted. Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke broke fundraising - The Texas Tribune But Luthers star appears to have dimmed after she lost a special election for state Senate last month. In the final half of 2020, Abbott collected contributions from 22,598 donors, 10,116 of whom were new, his campaign announced Wednesday. 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. Oil and gas executives S. Javaid Anwar and Gary Martin, in particular, have been regular contributors to Abbott for years. The top donor, Greg Abbott, represents reported contributions received by Gov. Learn more. 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. Visit us at Ballotpedia.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Ballotpedia is the digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections. These are the latest numbers ahead of Election Day. 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.. available information, the donor is given an economic code. Not long after, Abbott released a list of issues lawmakers needed to address in July during a special-called legislative session. 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. The Legislature ultimately passed a bill shepherded by Paddie in the House and state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, in the Senate that requires power generation companies to prepare to withstand extreme weather conditions. Hes running for reelection in 2022, said Patrick spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Spent $5.3 Million On Reelection Inauguration He was not appointed by Abbott and did not return a call for comment. Kelcy Warren, CEO of Dallas-based Energy Transfer, gave the most money, with a single $1 million contribution to Gov. 4 min read. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. 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. The data presented here is sourced from the Texas Ethics Commission, which displays campaign finance filings from candidate committees. That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. 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 . According to June polls from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, 4 in 5 respondents support background checks on all gun purchases, and just 15% support an abortion ban. Abbott his job, run a more aggressive and public-facing campaign, pushing the states politics to the right, 2015 felony indictment for securities fraud. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. 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. 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. Wheat criticized Abbotts decision last week to blame the power grids supply issues on frozen wind turbines. He helped raised $54 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates in other states, Carney said. In 2021, the Abbott campaign had out-raised the O'Rourke campaign since the start of their respective campaigns. West Texas energy billionaires make 7-figure wager against Abbott in The Stockyards Station Hotel, recently acquired by Roskis Majestic Realty, donated over $382,000 in event expenses while HillCo PAC, an Austin lobbyist firm, donated a total of $336,000. The storm, as bad as it was, helped him on his bottom line for contributions.. Energy Industry Showers Abbott, Other Texas Politicians With Campaign Greg Abbott - Texas Governor (R) Now showing data for the 2022 election year. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes California pilgrimage to woo 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. their contributions as being related to the "First National Bank" since that's the source of the family's income. 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. useful after the election, as issues come before Congress, presidential administrations and state governments that ideological code, rather than an economic code, if the contributor gives to an ideological political action Abbott is a member of the Republican Party and first assumed office in 2015. A spokesperson for Paddie did not respond to questions. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Abbott, other Texas politicians got cash boost from energy industry 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. ALBANY - Gov. individual contributions have yet been classified by OpenSecrets. This is up from 19% after the 2019 session. Tuesday marks the deadline for candidates to file campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission detailing fundraising and spending from July through December. individuals may be classified instead as ideological donors. Oil and gas taxes now boost the state budget. Greg Abbott, who is heading into a re-election year. One of the things that contributors are buying when they are contributing to a public official is access. In addition, both Gulf States Toyota Inc. State PAC and Q-PAC, which are tied to billionaire Dan Friedkin and Geoffrey Raynor, respectively, have also donated to Abbott in the past. Of the trio, King received the most contributions from Karnei by far: five between 2004 and 2016 totaling $475, according to TEC records. Final fundraising figures show that both gubernatorial candidates raised a combined. Texas Gov. Abbott receives $44.8 million, with a Greg - Ballotpedia Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year. 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. About 26% of Patricks contributions in June came from energy interests, more than $1.3 million, his most ever in the post-session stretch. based on summary reports filed by the candidates with the Federal Election Commission. 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.. 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Beto O'Rourke, Greg Abbott release latest fundraising hauls | The Texas Greg Abbott - Governor of Texas 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. Breaking down the contributions by ZIP code in Texas, ORourke received more money from donors in major cities, which are Democratic strongholds. Lori Cobos and DeAnn Walker, two Abbott appointees who sit on ERCOTs board due to their respective positions with the state, are listed among the governors lengthy list of political donors. As of Oct. 29, 2022, the overwhelming percentage of donations both candidates received are worth $200 or less. Perhaps it goes without saying but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. The money came from159,000 total contributions with an average contribution of roughly $119, his campaign said Tuesday. 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. disclosures vary. He loves being lieutenant governor and is not running against Gov. Abbott's campaign said his roughly $25 million in donations from the most recent filing period came from nearly 45,000 contributors, which is 1/10th of the number of donors reported by his. Texas doesnt limit political giving, with no caps on individual contributions for candidates for state office. 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. State requirements related to itemization thresholds and employment disclosures vary. O'Rourke did not say how much money his campaign has on hand -- or how much it has spent -- while teasing his fundraising numbers before filing his latest campaign finance report. Organizations like political action committees or industry associations can also give directly to candidate campaigns. 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. A large chunk of that cash was driven by Oncor, Texas largest transmission and distribution electric company, with many big donations coming from the company's executives. Had the bill passed, Walker would not be running the PUC. Updated: Feb. 10, 2023. Donors who give more than $200 to any federal candidate, PAC or party committee must list their occupation and Get immediate access to organizations and people In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Of all the statewide elections in Texas, the attorney generals race is expected to be the most competitive. This past Valentine's Day, Texas Senator Drew Springer filed HB 923, delivering . The Texas House Committee on State Affairs is scheduled to hold a joint hearing Thursday morning with the House Energy Resources Committee to examine what led to statewide electrical blackouts. Other ERCOT board members are listed in TEC records as having contributed to several energy-related PACs. Gas producers got a pass by Texas policymakers, said Michael Webber, professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin. Of the $44.8 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 21.9 percent came from the top 10 donors. Gov. With Democrat Joe Biden about to move into the White House and national Republicans in disarray over President Donald Trumps norm-shattering behavior in recent weeks, a big bankroll is about the only certainty Abbott can rely on. may affect those organizations or their industries. More: Ahead of primary, Gov. Corporations themselves cannot donate to candidates at the federal level but federal candidates can get contributions from corporate PACs, employees and owners as well as their immediate families.