Beto For Texas Raises Record-Breaking $27.63 Million

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Beto O'Rourke headshot

Beto’s grassroots campaign raises more in one reporting period than any state-level candidate in Texas history.

Houston — Beto O’Rourke announced today that his grassroots campaign for governor raised a record-breaking $27.63 million from more than half a million contributions between Feb. 20 and June 30. More than 98.9% of the over 511,000 contributions came in online with teachers pitching in more times than any other occupation. The average contribution was $54.

As the Beto for Texas campaign raised more in one reporting period than any state-level candidate in Texas history, its historic 78,000 volunteers also knocked on more than 105,500 doors in June alone and made more than one million calls to Texans during the same month.

“I’m grateful for everyone who helped us raise $27.63 million in just over four months as we support the powerful work of our organizers and more than 78,000 volunteers,” said O’Rourke. “We’re receiving support from people in every part of Texas who want to work together to ensure our state moves beyond Greg Abbott’s extremism and finally leads in great jobs, world class schools, the ability to see a doctor, keeping our kids safe and protecting a woman’s freedom to make her own decisions about her own body, health care and future.”

Recent polling has shown the race for governor tightening as Abbott’s net approval rating has dropped a full nine points since the spring. A June Quinnipiac University poll showed O’Rourke cutting Abbott’s lead by a full 10 points since entering the race, and a July poll from The Texas Politics Project found that O’Rourke had cut Abbott’s lead by five points just since April.

While a record 59% of Texas voters say the state is heading in the wrong direction under Abbott, his unfavorability ratings are the highest they have ever been. This comes as only 15% of voters agree with Abbott’s dangerous decision to sign the most extreme abortion law in America. Just 13% of voters agree with Abbott’s ban on abortion in cases of rape, and only 11% agree with his ban on abortion in cases of incest. Additionally, only 6% of voters agree with Abbott’s opposition to universal background checks after six major mass shootings have taken place on his watch.

O’Rourke’s record-breaking fundraising announcement comes days before he kicks off his 49-day, more than 5,600 mile Drive for Texas that will take him back to every part of the state this summer as he holds 70 public events in over 65 counties. The visit to more than 75 communities will focus on the popular things that Democrats, Republicans and independents want to accomplish together: creating great jobs, investing in world-class schools, expanding health care so more people can see a doctor and lowering costs so families can afford to live in this state. A running list of Drive for Texas events can be found here.