He pulled in more than a quarter of that money — about $2 million — in the 24-hour period after announcing his plans to seek the Democratic nomination to take on Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in 2022. O’Rourke’s latest fundraising total spans the period from November 15 to December 31.
The 46-day fundraising haul is a record for a Democratic candidate in Texas. No Democratic campaign in the state’s history has raised so much in the opening days of a race, O’Rourke’s team said.
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The money came from more than 115,600 contributions, the campaign said, and 80 percent of the total was raised from online donations.
“I’m grateful to everyone who helped us raise more than $7.2 million in the first weeks of our campaign,” O’Rourke said in a statement. “While 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.”
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Abbott ignored O'Rourke in his statement, saying his "donations will help us secure the future of Texas and keep us on a path towards an even brighter future."
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The candidates face an end-of-day deadline to detail to the Texas Ethics Commission their finances for the last six months of 2021.
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O’Rourke has proven himself time and again as one of the Democratic Party’s most flourishing fundraisers. He raised more than $80 million over the course of his unsuccessful 2018 campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Of course, O’Rourke will still have to compete against Abbott, who has more time to raise money and has amassed a staggering war chest of his own.
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Abbott’s campaign announced on Tuesday that it has more than $65 million on hand after pulling in nearly $19 million in the six-month period spanning from July 1 to December 31. The total came from nearly 159,000 contributions with an average donation size of $119, his campaign said.
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O’Rourke is the heavy favorite to win the Democratic nomination in March. More than half a dozen Republicans have challenged Abbott in the primary, including former Texas GOP Chair Allen West and former state Sen. Don Huffines.
Huffines announced Monday that he has raised $12 million since launching his bid in May, suggesting he’ll report around $3 million in donations for the latest six-month period. However, his campaign did not volunteer any details about whether his next report will reflect any self-funding, which made up more than half the $9.1 million he touted as his fundraising on the last six-month report, which went through June.
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