Abbott and O’Rourke’s Recent Fundraising Hauls Compared
The two candidates at the top of Texas’ ticket are raking in massive fundraising hauls this year. The toplines of their two July semiannual finance reports show:
Greg Abbott (R)
- Raised – $24,916,161
- Spent – $29,931,243
- Cash On Hand – $45,736,827
Beto O’Rourke (D)
- Raised – $27,638,121
- Spent – $9,458,289
- Cash On Hand – $23,892,306
O’Rourke had over half a million individual contributions in his report, 41 percent of which were from within Texas. Of his $27.6 million raised, 52 percent came from within Texas. O’Rourke pulled in three $1 million donations during this filing period, two from West Lake Hills couple Tench and Simone Coxe and the other from progressive billionaire George Soros, who lives in New York.
Abbott’s percentage of his over 112,000 contributions from Texas is comparable to O’Rourke’s: 43 percent. But concerning the cash itself, 86 percent of his $24.9 million raised came from Texas.
The candidates will have to file two more reports before the November 8 election.
Texas Republican Legislators Not Joining Brief Against Abortion Facilities
Dozens of GOP legislators joined an amicus brief supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against various abortion facilities. The suit alleges the facilities are running afoul of the state’s pre-Roe v. Wade prohibitions that were never repealed after the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
There are 26 GOP legislators that did not sign onto the brief.
House
- Steve Allison (R-San Antonio)
- Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin)
- Ernest Bailes (R-Shepherd)
- Brad Buckley (R-Kileen)
- Travis Clardy (R-Nacogdoches)
- Tom Craddick (R-Midland)
- John Cyrier (R-Lockhart)*
- John Frullo (R-Lubbock)*
- Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth)
- Dan Huberty (R-Houston)*
- Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi)
- Kyle Kacal (R-Bryan)
- Ken King (R-Canadian)
- Stan Lambert (R-Abilene)
- J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville)
- Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas)
- Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont)
- Hugh Shine (R-Temple)
- Gary VanDeaver (R-New Boston)
Senate
- Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway)**
- Joan Huffman (R-Houston)
- Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound)*
- Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville)
- Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown)
- Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo)*
- Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood)*
*Not seeking re-election
**Running for Land Commissioner
Poll Shows Americans’ Perception of Texas
A new poll by Rasmussen, commissioned by Texas public affairs firm CrosswindPR, shows that Texas is viewed positively by a plurality of Americans from outside the state.
Nearly half, 45 percent, of respondents said they either had a “very” or “somewhat positive” perception of the Lone Star State, while 31 percent had either a “very” or “somewhat negative” view. 21 percent were “neutral” on the state.
Other findings show:
- 53 percent see Texas as a good place to start a business
- 52 percent see Texas as a good place to raise a family
- 56 percent view Texas as a good travel destination for vacation
When asked to assess Texas’ direction, 38 percent said it’s headed in the right direction and 38 percent said the wrong direction.
“Overall, the state of the Texas brand continues to be strong and durable with Americans continuing to view Texas favorably and recognizing the Texas business climate and family values as favorable traits,” said Crosswind President and CEO Thomas Graham.
Pointing to national news coverage of issues in Texas such as inflation, the power grid, the border, and abortion law, Graham said, “Despite these headlines, most Americans believe what Texans rightly know: the brand of the Lone Star State remains strong.”
The survey was conducted July 11-12 and polled 845 non-Texas residents with a +/- 3 percent margin of error.
###
Disclosure: Unlike almost every other media outlet, The Texan is not beholden to any special interests, does not apply for any type of state or federal funding, and relies exclusively on its readers for financial support. If you’d like to become one of the people we’re financially accountable to, click here to subscribe.
Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson is a senior reporter for The Texan and an Ohio native who graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2017. He is an avid sports fan who most enjoys watching his favorite teams continue their title drought throughout his cognizant lifetime. In his free time, you may find Brad quoting Monty Python productions and trying to calculate the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.
