Political Warchests at Midyear

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has been at the top of the cash list in Texas politics for so long that it's not really that newsy any more. The incumbent Republican, who's got a run for governor in his sights if Rick Perry moves along, got to the end of June with $10.4 million in the bank.

He had more money than any other candidate — or any of the state's big political action committees. Among the candidates, Comptroller Susan Combs reached mid-year with $5.4 million in her accounts, followed by Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, at $4.8 million; House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, $2.6 million; and Perry, $2.1 million. Another 13 politicians — all but one of them (former state Rep. Steve Wolens, D-Dallas) still in office — had at least $1 million on hand as of June 30. In all, 18 candidates had at least $1 million cash on hand.

Some of the political actions committees, or PACS, associated with trade and lobby groups are wealthy too. The Texas Association of Realtors has two separate funds, and each has more than any other association, with balances of $7.4 million and $5.8 million, respectively. The Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC had $3.2 million on hand, followed by the Texas Dental Association PAC, $1.2 million; the Greenberg Traurig PAC (it's a law/lobby firm), $1.1 million; the Texas Farm Bureau's PAC, $1 million; and the Texas Medical Association PAC, $1 million. No other noncandidate PACs broke into seven figures.

Texas politicians and PACS regularly report their financial activities to the Texas Ethics Commission, and we've put some of their numbers into this list for comparison. Individuals and many PACs file reports every six months in nonelection years (and more frequently in election years), while some types of PACs are required to file monthly financial reports. This list includes a mix of what the former group had on hand on June 30 and what the latter group had on hand on July 31. For the full list, click here.