Greg Abbott, who is heading into a reelection year in 2022, benefited most from the flood of June campaign donations from the energy industry. Thanks to our generous supporters, our campaign helped secure Republican victories across the state of Texas this election cycle, he said. In 2021, the Abbott campaign had out-raised the O'Rourke campaign since the start of their respective campaigns. For some energy experts, the increase in donations for the officials at the close of the session looks like a reward for not passing more stringent regulations and raises questions about whether lawmakers let the oil, gas and the broader energy industry off easy for its massive failures. Abbott talks parental empowerment, 'regulatory consistency' to open Texas governor's biggest donors: Energy industry that failed That amount is up from 12% of his contributions coming from energy interests after the 2019 session, about $383,000. In cases where two or more people from the same family contributed, the income-earner's occupation/employer is A contribution to a candidate may be given an Find a complete list of them here. So although an Abbott campaign news release touted the $19.2 million he raised last year, it was just an 8% increase over the $17.8 million he raised in 2016. Greg Abbott campaign promises 'knock-out, drag-out fight' in race against Beto O'Rourke, according to January campaign finance reports, Governor's race tightens as Greg Abbott's lead over Beto O'Rourke shrinks to 6 points, poll finds, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Beto O'Rourke looks to put Greg Abbott on defense in early stages of Texas governor's race, Ahead of primary, 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 challenger over the same time period. However, Abbott s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak has attracted criticism from Democrats, independents and staunchly conservative Republicans, weakening his once-robust job approval ratings in public polls. During that week, Abbott assured Texans the grid was in better shape than ever. Greg Abbott attacks Beto O'Rourke without mentioning him by name, $2 million raised during the first 24 hours, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The top donor, Greg Abbott, represents reported contributions received by Gov. DeSantis, who frequently tangles . Data for His campaign accepted more than $12 million in political contributions from oil and gas companies and executives this election cycle. Greg Abbott - Texas Governor (R) Now showing data for the 2022 election year. However, Abbott has been a prolific fundraiser for years, which gave him the upper hand earlier in the race. Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke broke fundraising records in their race for Texas governor. Since the beginning of last year, Abbotts campaign has raised about $5.5 million from at least 17 billionaires and 3 spouses of billionaires. Greg Abbott raised $11.5 million from July through December, and now can brandish almost $38 million of cash as he tries to scare off opponents in his campaign for a third term next year. Find a complete list of them here. Unprecedented: Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke edges Gov. Greg Abbott in reason, summary numbers are usually higher (and more current) than the numbers based on detailed records. But none has reaped campaign contributions on the scale of Abbott, who in six years in office has raised more than $150 million from donors, more than any governor in U.S. history. February winter storm: Campaign donations poured in after reform - WFAA Collier now has more money, a stronger team and a ground game that has pushed Patrick torun a more aggressive and public-facing campaignthan he ran four years ago. 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. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. Just before the energy donations poured in for Abbott in June, the power grid operator asked Texans, mid-heat wave, to conserve power and turn their thermostats to 78 degrees for a week in order to reduce electricity demand because significant power generation was unexpectedly offline. King, Slawson and Shaheen did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment for this story. Texas Ethics Commission records, however, show that three of the 13 representatives on the House Committee on State Affairs have accepted contributions from ERCOT board member Clifton Karnei. The O'Rourke campaign has not yet released how much cash on hand it has. Dan Patrick received millions in contributions from the energy industry, a new Texas Tribune report shows. AUSTIN Heading into the 2022 campaign season, Gov. In fact, Abbott's campaign said he has raised $95 million this election season. Political strife: The Texas Legislatures toughest 2021 challenges, A day after powerful thunderstorms, North Texas surveys the damage, 3 children killed, 2 wounded at Ellis County home; suspect in custody, How a Texas districts reaction to school shooting fears highlights discipline concerns, Carrollton man advertised pills on social media to entice teens to buy fentanyl, feds say. Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to cut off funding for the legislature after Democrats walked out of the final session to prevent the passage of Abbott's voter integrity bill. There is also a time lag in posting the information. O'Rourke's latest haul includes $2 million raised during the first 24 hours of his campaign, collected frommore than 20,000 individual donors. 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. More:Governor's race tightens as Greg Abbott's lead over Beto O'Rourke shrinks to 6 points, poll finds. A lot of things can happen. 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. Slawson and Shaheen each received $150 last year, records show. Dan Patrick, she lost a special election for state Senate last month, Greg Abbott confronts coronavirus as stronger governor than Texas had 50 years ago, even with federal fundraising constraints, Crenshaw in the last two-year cycle raised a whopping $19 million, Dark alley no more: This time, Texas Republicans were ready for the Democrats, Pandemic. Abbott signed into law last year an abortion ban excepting cases when the life of a pregnant patientis in danger that takes effect later this summer. All other numbers in these Were talking about a historic blackout in the state of Texas, that affected millions of peoples lives, some in very dangerous ways, said Wheat. 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 . The data is made public by the Texas Ethics Commission. With this tracker, The Express-News is providing continuously updated information on political contributions for the Nov. 8, 2022, elections, along with lists of top donors by name and by industry for statewide candidates for governor, attorney general, and lieutenant governor. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. Heres how they compare. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. In the past two cycles, national Democrats have shown their willingness to pour millions into once-forbidding Texas. A spokesperson for Abbott told the Defenders via email, Governor Abbott has made the reform of ERCOT an emergency item and has assured the public we will not leave this session without reforming the entity.. Greg Abbott dwarfing other candidates in energy-interest contributions, according to a KHOU 11 analysis of data . Karnei, the CEO of a Central Texas power cooperative, is an abounding donor to politicians and energy-related political action committees, campaign finance records show. Still, University of North Texas political scientist Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha said Abbotts $38 million will scare off most of the competition.. Greg Abbott and Republicans Count on NRA Donations - Market Realist He gave $1 million to Abbotts campaign in June 2021. But Luthers star appears to have dimmed after she lost a special election for state Senate last month. According to its website, OPUC represents the interests of residential and small commercial consumers, as a class, in utility proceedings in Texas. 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. Abbotts roster of rich donors is full of Texas Republicans with oil interestssome of who supported Trump ahead of the 2020 election. A PUC spokesman instead sent the following statement: Dillon, responding on Chairman Walkers behalf as shes still fully engaged in issues related to the winter storm related grid event. Disclosure: Javaid Anwar, Tench and Simone Otus Coxe, Marguerite Hoffman, Gary Martin, Gulf States Toyota, HillCo Partners LLC and Ross Perot Jr./Hillwood Development Co. LLC have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. contributor provides it. O'Rourke, who launched his campaign in November, raised the significant sum over 46 days on the campaign trail from more than115,600 contributions of which roughly 80% were made online. Abbott raised more in smaller cities and rural areas. State Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, chair of the powerful state affairs committee in the House, was among those lawmakers. requested and disclosed, if provided. Sign up for our newsletter to track moneys influence on U.S. elections and public policy. The epic Texas freeze fueled a surge of campaign cash, with the war chest of Gov. The storm, as bad as it was, helped him on his bottom line for contributions.. Greg Abbott - Governor of Texas "In Texas, anything is possible. (An Abbott spokesman did not release the campaigns report for the second half of 2020, which is due at the Texas Ethics Commission on Friday.). State Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, who led much of the upper chambers response to the storm that left millions of Texans without electricity for days in subfreezing temperatures, also got a boost in funding. 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 his contributions in 2021. Oil and gas executives S. Javaid Anwar and Gary Martin, in particular, have been regular contributors to Abbott for years. Abbott's campaign said it received nearly 113,000 contributions and that 86% of the campaign contributions came from within Texas. The state of Texas imposes no limits on how much money you can give to your local representative, your senator, your governor, said Wheat. About 26% of Patricks contributions in June came from energy interests, more than $1.3 million, his most ever in the post-session stretch. Rick Perry and Democrat Tony Sanchez spent in 2002 and the combined $90 million Abbott and Democrat Wendy Davis spent in 2014. Abbott wants to deny undocumented kids a public education The money came from159,000 total contributions with an average contribution of roughly $119, his campaign said Tuesday. Gov. Dave Carney, Abbotts political strategist, said the governor is unperturbed by the volatile national political environment.