Hey John, it’s Nick again.
I wanted to check in real quick because Greg Abbott just released his end-of-year fundraising numbers from the last Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) deadline. It’s a bit of a good news, bad news situation.
| Candidate | Raised through 12/31 | Time frame |
| Beto O'Rourke | $7.2 million | 46 days |
| Greg Abbott | $18.9 million | 6 months |
1) Good news: We’re raising money faster than Abbott. If we can accelerate the pace, we can close the gap and have a much better shot at victory.
2) Bad news: Greg Abbott has been in this race a much longer time. With this new money added, he now has over $65 million on hand to spend.
John, on Thursday we have our next TEC deadline (yes, already!). Everything we raise through Jan. 20th will be made public.
Let me be blunt. People want to know if Beto can win. We need to show we can fundraise a lot faster than Abbott to give people the confidence. Let’s show we can pick up the pace right now, John.
I don’t expect us to match Greg Abbott’s total campaign spending by November. He obviously started fundraising much earlier than Beto.
And yes, I know we have some advantages.
First off, we didn’t screw up the power grid.
We didn’t botch the COVID response.
And we didn’t pass a brazen and unconstitutional attack on the right to abortion.
We have a winning message. Plus, we’re launching the biggest organizing program Texas has ever seen — outdoing even what we built in 2018 when Beto came just a couple points shy of winning statewide.
But, John, if we’re going to win, we can’t suffer a blowout on the money side. We’re going to have to close the gap a good chunk to prevent Greg Abbott from drowning us out on TV, digital, and radio ads heading into the election.
Our only chance to close the gap is through strong grassroots fundraising. That’s why I’m emailing you today. Please add a $3 contribution before our Thursday TEC deadline to help us close the gap between us and Abbott.
Thanks for everything you do,
Nick Rathod
Campaign Manager, Beto for Texas
