It’s no secret that Gov. Greg Abbott has amassed an enormous campaign war chest since taking office, totaling nearly $38 million, despite not being on the ballot this November.
However, Republicans downballot who are up for re-election this year may not be able to count on Abbott to share his resources to keep Texas red.
Newly released financial reports show Abbott’s campaign has only donated $57,122 to Republicans since the primary runoff elections in July through September 24, the last date covered by the most recent reports. This amounts to less than 0.2 percent of his total campaign funds.
Of that, $25,000 came in the form of a direct donation to the Republican Party of Texas in mid-July.
Since then, Abbott’s contributions have largely been in-kind, meaning that instead of sending a check, his campaign has shared polling data, endorsement videos, etc.
Some of the recipients are Republicans in tough re-election battles, including State Reps. Jeff Leach (Plano), Craig Goldman (Fort Worth), and Morgan Meyer (Dallas), while other donations were sent to Republican challengers like Will Douglas and Justin Berry, who are both seeking to take back legislative seats won by Democrats in 2018.
Others, such as State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (Arlington) and Jeff Cason in northeast Tarrant County, did not report receiving any contributions from the governor during the most recent reporting period, despite being in competitive elections.
| Recipient | Amount | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Party of Texas , | $25,000 | 07-16-2020 | |
| Lani Popp | $105.64 | Outreach texts | 07-22-2020 |
| Justin Berry | $3,517.74 | Campaign Digital Voter Contact | 07-22-2020 |
| Jacey Jetton | $2,098.29 | Outreach Text Messages | 07-22-2020 |
| Gary Gates | $2,191.67 | Data to campaign | 08-25-2020 |
| Linda Koop | $2,191.67 | Data | 08-25-2020 |
| Justin Berry | $2,191.67 | Campaign Data | 08-25-2020 |
| Steve Allison | $2,191.67 | Campaign data | 08-25-2020 |
| Luida Del Rosal | $2,191.67 | Data | 08-26-2020 |
| Jeff Leach | $2,191.67 | Polling Data | 08-31-2020 |
| Will Douglas | $2,191.67 | Data | 08-31-2020 |
| Craig Goldman | $2,191.67 | Data | 08-31-2020 |
| Morgan Meyer | $2,191.67 | Campaign polling data | 08-31-2020 |
| Kronda Thimesch | $2,191.67 | Data | 08-31-2020 |
| Lynn Stucky | $2,191.67 | In-kind campaign contribution for | 09-01-2020 |
| David Cook | $2,191.67 | Data | 09-12-2020 |
| Linda Koop | $50 | Campaign Endorsement | 09-16-2020 |
| Luisa Del Rosal | $50 | Endorsement Video Filming | 09-16-2020 |
With redistricting on the horizon, Democrats see a potential opportunity to redraw legislative maps in an effort to control state legislatures and U.S. Congress for the next decade, and the threat of Texas turning blue lingers on the horizon.
In the Texas House of Representatives, Republicans hold 83 of the chamber’s 150 seats, with Democrats holding the remaining 67. Only nine districts need to flip in the November election in order for Democrats to take control. In 2018, for comparison, Democrats successfully flipped 12 Texas House seats from Republicans.
Just last month, Democrat Forward Majority PAC pledged $6.2 million to efforts to turn the Texas House blue, as part of a nationwide effort to flip state legislatures across the country.
Abbott’s campaign did not respond to an inquiry from Texas Scorecard as to whether they planned to spend more to help Republican candidates closer to the election.
The next set of financial reports for candidates up for re-election in November are scheduled to be released on October 27.
