Democrat Beto O'Rourke edged out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the fundraising battle in the state's gubernatorial race, collecting over $25 million from July through late September compared to the incumbent who brought in just less than that, The Texas Tribune is reporting.
O'Rourke's campaign said he took in $25.18 million in the latest reporting period. Abbott's campaign said the governor brought in nearly $25 million.
The two campaigns did not release how much cash they had on hand. The Tribune noted that as of the end of June, Abbott had $45.7 million saved up to $23.9 million for O'Rourke.
O'Rourke had raised $27.6 million during the previous period, outraising Abbott by $2.7 million and setting a new record for fundraising in state-level politics.
The campaign for O'Rourke said his latest total came from almost half a million contributions. It said the average contribution was $53.
Abbott's campaign noted his fundraising haul came from "nearly 45,000 contributors, and 81% of all the money came from within Texas."
Despite his fundraising success, O'Rourke still trails Abbott, a Republican, 54% to 43% in a Quinnipiac University poll released Sept. 28.
"The race for the top job in Austin leans toward Abbott, who has very strong support from white Texans, particularly white men, while O'Rourke has overwhelming appeal among Black voters and strong support among young voters," Quinnipiac analyst Tim Malloy stated.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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