Gov. Abbott raises $19 million, Beto O'Rourke's fast start nets $7.2 million in race for governor

Democrat Beto O'Rourke has raised $7.2 million since launching his campaign for Texas governor, according to his campaign.

His team called the haul a "record-breaking amount" and said "no Democratic campaign in the state’s history has raised more money during the opening days of their race."

O'Rourke, who launched his campaign in November, raised the significant sum over 46 days on the campaign trail from more than 115,600 contributions — of which roughly 80% were made online.

Given more time, Gov. Greg Abbott said his campaign raised nearly $19 million in the last six months of 2021, a total that brought his campaign war chest to a staggering $65 million in December.

The money came from 159,000 total contributions with an average contribution of roughly $119, his campaign said Tuesday.

Tuesday marks the deadline for candidates to file campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission detailing fundraising and spending from July through December.

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“These generous contributions from people all across Texas show just how excited Texans are for this campaign,” Abbott said in a statement.

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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.

O'Rourke's latest haul includes $2 million raised during the first 24 hours of his campaign, collected from more than 20,000 individual donors.

“While (Gov. Greg) Abbott is taking million-dollar checks from the CEOs who profited off of the grid collapse, we’re 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.

Before Abbott and O'Rourke can face off at the polls, both candidates must first win their respective March 1 primary races.

In the Republican primary, Abbott is facing former state Sen. Don Huffines, former Texas GOP Chairman Allen West, Chad Prather, Danny Harrison, Kandy Kaye Horn, Paul Belew and Rick Perry (no, not that Rick Perry).

O'Rourke is running in the Democratic primary and faces Michael Cooper, Joy Diaz, Inocencio Barrientez and Rich Wakeland.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Abbott raises $19 million, O'Rourke $7.2 million in race for governor