In state-level elections, the race for governor is the marquee contest on the ballot, setting the tone for the next two to four years in state government. And several upcoming governor’s races are expected to garner more attention — and be more contentious — than usual due to governors’ COVID-related decisions and rumored 2024 presidential aspirations. We’ve looked at the initial fundraising numbers in the 2022 gubernatorial races in the swing states. Even before the deadline for challengers to jump in, the incumbents are actively fundraising, with Abbott and DeSantis leading the pack.
The Real Texas PAC
Texas Committee
$43,889Cash on Hand
$429,667Total Contributions
$427,707Total Expenditures
Financial Activity
Top Contributors
Total Contributions | Name |
|---|---|
| $6,000.00 | Gray Kenneth |
| $4,085.00 | Donald Henley |
| $3,920.00 | Harold D Copeland |
| $2,000.00 | Edward Gomez |
| $2,000.00 | Jean Beasley |
| $2,000.00 | Robert Hall |
| $1,750.00 | Gregory Shaw |
| $1,680.50 | Flois Jones |
| $1,600.00 | Robert Petersen |
| $1,500.00 | Annie Winch |
Top Payees
Total Expenditures | Payee |
|---|---|
| $147,170.00 | Jcbr Consulting |
| $90,000.00 | True Blue Analytics LLC |
| $52,130.94 | NGP VAN Inc |
| $45,956.80 | Switchboard Public Benefit Corporation |
| $23,772.29 | MBA Consulting Group |
| $17,385.91 | Actblue Technical Services |
| $10,000.00 | Florida Women's Freedom Coalition PC |
| $5,000.00 | Big and Bright PAC |
| $5,000.00 | Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Federal |
| $5,000.00 | Texas Democratic Party |
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Lobbying is big business in Austin. Over $667 million was spent by lobbyist clients to influence lawmakers during the 2020 election cycle (January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2020), with the vast majority of that spending occurring while the Texas legislature was convened in 2019. Yet only two percent of all those expenditures have a legislator’s name attached to them. That’s right. In the entire two-year cycle, only $12,944,291 ever made its way onto a detailed report filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
This article is Part 4 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. Read the first three articles here, here, and here.