Abbott and Davis Both Claim Fundraising Success

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout

Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis and a fundraising partner raised more money in the last month than the campaign of Attorney General Greg Abbott, but the Republican front-runner for governor had almost three times the amount of cash to spend. 

The fundraising figures were released by both campaigns. Details of who gave and in what amounts, which have to be reported to the Texas Ethics Commission by midnight Monday, were not yet available.

The Davis campaign reported raising a combined $2.85 million. She counts money going into both her gubernatorial campaign and a joint fundraising operation with the Democratic group Battleground Texas, in addition to her old Senate committee.

The gubernatorial campaign raised $1.6 million and the joint “Texas Victory Committee” raised about $1.2, her campaign said. The Senate committee "officeholder" account got only $2,000. 

All told, Davis will report having $11.3 million in cash on hand for the three entities. Abbott, who raised $2.45 million over the latest reporting period, has about $30 million in the bank, his campaign said.

The Davis campaign said it had raised nearly $16 million from over 91,000 individual donors since July. The campaign said there were over 14,000 new individuals in the last reporting period, which ran from Jan. 24 to Feb. 22.

“We are surpassing expectations,” said Karin Johanson, Davis’s campaign manager. “The level of support we are receiving across the state demonstrates the issues we are emphasizing — education, the economy and caring for our veterans — are Texas values.”

Abbott, a prodigious fundraiser and heir to a vast Republican donor network, faces little competition for his party’s primary election and has already been engaging with Davis, his expected opponent. The campaign said 98 percent of its donations came from inside Texas.

"Texans from across the state are joining Greg Abbott in building a strong campaign and a brighter future for Texas," Abbott campaign manager Wayne Hamilton said in a written statement. "As the campaign progresses, Greg Abbott will continue to travel the state, speaking with and hearing from Texans who share his goal to improve Texas’ education system, grow jobs, and strengthen individual freedom."