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Gov. Greg Abbott edged out Beto O'Rourke in dollars raised for their respective gubernatorial bids in the first 20 days of January, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed Monday.
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At the same time, O'Rourke had more small-dollar donor success on the filings, which covered the first full reporting period where both men were candidates.
Still, Abbott is in an overwhelming position financially: He has $62.6 million in the bank, while O'Rourke — who effectively started from scratch in November — has $6 million.
Abbott reported raising $1.4 million to O'Rourke's $1.3 million. But O'Rourke's campaign took pride in its number of donations, which stood at 28,569 compared to 19,315 for Abbott, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. O'Rourke also had a smaller average contribution size: $46 compared to $74 for Abbott.
The latest figures continue to demonstrate that O'Rourke is a strong fundraiser, though he has a formidable hill to climb in catching up — or even getting close — to Abbott's staggering war chest.
The Tribune analysis also showed that Abbott reported a larger share of donations from outside Texas over the 20 days. He disclosed 51% of his contributions came from out of state, while that number was 45% for O'Rourke.
Notably, Abbott unloaded $4.5 million over the 20-day period, likely driven by his campaign's ramp-up ahead of the March 1 primary, when he faces a vocal group of challengers. O'Rourke, who has a less competitive primary, reported $612,000 in expenses.
Two of Abbott's best-known primary foes, Don Huffines and Allen West, also disclosed their latest fundraising data Monday. Huffines, a former Dallas state senator, reported $1.1 million in contributions, close to all of it from a political action committee funded by conservative megadonors Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. West, the former Texas GOP chair, disclosed $332,000 in contributions, over half of them in-kind. Huffines spent $2.7 million; West spent $232,000. Huffines ended the period with $2.3 million cash on hand, while West had $83,000.
In another closely watched statewide primary — the Republican contest for attorney general — incumbent Ken Paxton disclosed raising $334,000 over the 20 days. One of his challengers, Eva Guzman, reported more money raised — $651,000 — though almost all of it came in the form of in-kind contributions from the top group supporting her, Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
Paxton continued to maintain a wide cash-on-hand advantage, with $7.5 million saved up as of Jan. 20. The cash-on-hand runner-up in the primary was Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who reported a $2.6 million balance.
As he confronts a potential runoff, Paxton has trained his fire on a third challenger, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler. However, Gohmert raised only $21,000 during the January period and ended it with $884,000 in the bank.
Carla Astudillo contributed reporting.
Disclosure: Texans for Lawsuit Reform has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.