AUSTIN, Texas — Democratic Texas gubernatorial hopeful Beto O’Rourke raised more than $2 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate this week, breaking records, his campaign said Wednesday.
O’Rourke said he’s cobbling together “the largest people-powered campaign that Texas has ever seen” in his bid to oust GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.
The former El Paso congressman raised more than $80 million for his U.S. Senate race three years ago — and, through his failed presidential bid and recent leadership of voter-registration drives, amassed an enviable donor list.
“Texans across the state are demanding change,” O’Rourke said in a written statement. “We entered this race because we believe in a bigger vision for Texas. I’m honored to have the support of tens of thousands of Texans.”
In the 24 hours after he announced Monday, O’Rourke raised $2,015,885 from more than 20,000 donors, the campaign said.
That breaks the fundraising record “for any Democratic gubernatorial candidate for the first 24 hours” of a campaign, according to O’Rourke’s release. It’s more than any Democrat running for governor has raised in the first day nationwide, O’Rourke spokesman Abhi Rahman clarified.
The campaign also said O’Rourke had raised “the most in the first 24 hours of any campaign in 2021.” Of the donors, 57% are Texas residents, Rahman said.
Abbott spokesman Mark Miner called O’Rourke’s rollout unimpressive, despite the fundraising.
“It was an extremely lackluster campaign announcement,” Miner said. “He’s already trying to reinvent himself and run from his open-border and defund-the-police policies.”
Abbott’s also a relentless, highly successful fundraiser. As of June 30, the GOP incumbent governor had $55.1 million in his campaign account. Abbott has not filed a required campaign finance report for the year’s third special legislative session.
On Wednesday, former Dallas GOP state Sen. Don Huffines, who has challenged Abbott in the Republican primary, said he had raised more than $1.2 million in the third special session, which ended Oct. 18. That brings Huffines’ total contributions for the race to more than $10 million, he said.
“I am humbled by the continued support from patriots across the state,” Huffines said in a written statement. “Texans are hungry for an actual Republican leader.” Huffines did not release his report to the Texas Ethics Commission.
O’Rourke has been holding events since he announced his candidacy Monday morning, making stops in Fort Stockton, San Antonio and Laredo. He is scheduled to visit the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi and Houston on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
On Sunday, O’Rourke will hold an event at Fair Park in Dallas.
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