‘King of the hill’ stashing campaign cash
Abbott gets early start on replenishing funds for 2018 run
AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott, a prolific fundraiser who spent around $50 million during his run for the state’s highest office, is steadily rebuilding his once massive campaign war chest.
Abbott’s campaign staff said Wednesday that the governor had raised roughly $8.25 million during a nine-day stretch last month in what appears to be a record-setting total during the abbreviated fund-raising period that follows the end of a legislative session.
An intimidating amount
The more than $915,000-aday haul provides Abbott with a new whopping cash-on-hand total of $17.7 million, a huge sum sure to instill early doubt in any state Republican eyeing a potential run for governor in 2018.
Experts said they were not surprised by Abbott raising big money in such a short time frame, considering he has built a vast network of donors over the years and that he frequently raised sums around $1 million a week during his gubernatorial campaign.
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said Abbott generally kept his political coffers flush when running campaigns as the state’s attorney general and noted Abbott had nearly $21 million in the bank when he announced his run for governor in the summer of 2013.
“This is signature Abbott,” Jillson said. “That’s the way strong politicians behave. They do steady fundraising instead waiting for a campaign to come along.”
Abbott’s camp is the first of any major state official to release any fund-raising figures. Full campaign finance reports detailing donors and expenditures are due next week.
Chance to show muscle
The figures will reflect the first fund-raising totals of the year, and will be leveraged by many politicians as a show of financial muscle and broad support by demonstrating the ability to tap a range of donors just weeks after the legislative session.
Abbott’s $8.25 million total from more than 2,000 individual contributions, stems, in part, from an aggressive digital fundraising strategy. His campaign said more than 80 percent of the donations received last month came via the campaign’s official website.
“Texans from across the state continue to invest in our vision to build a better Texas,” Abbott said in a statement, “and I am grateful for their steadfast support.”
State officials had a short window to raise money during the reporting period, which ended June 30. They had been barred from fund-raising for roughly six months as part of a state mandated buffer period before and after the start of a legislative session.
This year’s fund-raising freeze started on Dec. 14 and wrapped up on June 21, giving state officials a total of just nine days to schmooze donors at receptions, barrage them with phone calls and deluge inboxes with email.
Two years ago, Abbott reported raising roughly $4.8 million during the post-session fundraising stretch, when state officials had 14 days to rake in money.
Has outdone Perry
The only other politician who has come close to raising that much in an equivalent abbreviated period is former Gov. Rick Perry, who in 2009 reported raising $4.23 million from just under 1,100 individual donors in a nine-day fundraising stretch following the end of a legislative session.
Jillson said Abbott could end up using his fundraising prowess, and sway as a sitting governor, to persuade donors to assemble a potentially insurmountable war chest for any GOP contender long before 2018.
“He is the king of the hill,” he said. “And everybody wants to be right with the king.”