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Beto O'Rourke announces $7.2 million in fundraising in first 46 days of campaign;
This makes me smile
Link to tweet
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke raised $7.2 million in the first 46 days of his campaign, while Republican incumbent Greg Abbott raked in $18.9 million over the last six months as his war chest topped $65 million......
The figures confirm what has long been considered the case: O'Rourke is a strong fundraiser, but he is up against a juggernaut in Abbott, at least when it comes to the money the governor has saved up. O'Rourke did not release his cash-on-hand number, but he was effectively starting from scratch when he launched his campaign in November, and his $7.2 million period means his cash on hand remains a fraction of Abbott's reserves. Abbott had $55 million saved up for his reelection campaign at the end of June.
O'Rourke's campaign said he got over 115,600 contributions over the 46-day period, while Abbott's team said it received nearly 159,000 donations from July through December. Abbott's campaign said it had an average contribution of "just over $119," while O'Rourke's team did not volunteer that number.
O'Rourke's latest fundraising number includes $2 million that his campaign said he collected within 24 hours of announcing his run. Expectations have been high for O'Rourke's fundraising after he proved a fundraising phenom during his 2018 run against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, when he raised more than $80 million. O'Rourke was subject to federal campaign donation caps in that race; Texas has no such restrictions.
The figures confirm what has long been considered the case: O'Rourke is a strong fundraiser, but he is up against a juggernaut in Abbott, at least when it comes to the money the governor has saved up. O'Rourke did not release his cash-on-hand number, but he was effectively starting from scratch when he launched his campaign in November, and his $7.2 million period means his cash on hand remains a fraction of Abbott's reserves. Abbott had $55 million saved up for his reelection campaign at the end of June.
O'Rourke's campaign said he got over 115,600 contributions over the 46-day period, while Abbott's team said it received nearly 159,000 donations from July through December. Abbott's campaign said it had an average contribution of "just over $119," while O'Rourke's team did not volunteer that number.
O'Rourke's latest fundraising number includes $2 million that his campaign said he collected within 24 hours of announcing his run. Expectations have been high for O'Rourke's fundraising after he proved a fundraising phenom during his 2018 run against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, when he raised more than $80 million. O'Rourke was subject to federal campaign donation caps in that race; Texas has no such restrictions.