The O'Rourke campaign called the total a record "for any Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the first 24 hours" of a change and the most raised in the "first 24 hours of any campaign in 2021."
But O'Rourke's name as a fundraising powerhouse doesn't make his bid any less of a long shot. He is going against an incumbent governor, Greg Abbott, who has over $55 million in his campaign war chest. Polls show O'Rourke is currently pursuing Abbott in the Lone Star State, and he has to win the gear of two past failed campaigns.
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In this race, O'Rourke does have some support: He is arguably Texas's most widely known Democrat. In September, Abbott got his lowest-ever approval rating since taking office, with 50% disapproving of his job performance and just 41% supporting.
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But effective fundraising numbers did not lead to wins in his two previous campaigns.
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In 2018, as a little-known congressman from the El-Paso area district, O'Rourke launched a campaign against Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, raising a whopping $80 million, more than double what Cruz raised. O'Rourke grew to national recognition during that effort, noted for his capacity to energize young voters. But some national Democrats challenged whether that money would be better spent in more winnable races. O'Rourke ultimately failed, but he came within 3% of Cruz.
O'Rourke then launched an effort for the Democratic nomination for president, which supporters believed he could lead his fundraising prowess into a prosperous campaign, but he eventually raised less some quarters than he did as a Senate candidate.
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But in his new statewide campaign, some of the advantages O'Rourke enjoyed in 2018 are no longer there. In 2018, then-President DoO'Rourkemp had a historically disliked approval rating heading into Election Day in the midterm elections, with a support rating of just 39%. Now, President Joe Biden, a member of O'Rourke's party, has a comparably low approval rating. Glenn Youngkin's victory and unexpected GOP gains in New Jersey suggest voters will incline toward Republicans next year, yet another obstacle for O'Rourke.
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Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas, recently told Axios that O'Rourke was "a shiny new object" during his Senate bid, but "things after that have gotten a little more complicated."
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"Ultimately, "running against Ted Cruz is an easy sell among Democrats," Blank said. "Once he jumped into the 2020 presidential primary, he had "to distinguish "himself from other Democrats and that just by its nature creates more conflict, even within one's party."
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