Greg Abbott
Abbott Posts Record-Breaking Fundraising Totals
Jul 15th - 1:39 pm
Attorney General Greg Abbott released his own record-breaking fundraising totals Tuesday. Abbott raised $11.1 million in the last four months, bringing his total cash on hand to nearly $36 million. According to the Abbott campaign, that is more cash on hand than any other candidate in Texas history.
The Abbott campaign also pointed out that 95 percent of his contributions came from Texas.
“The strength of this campaign builds each day, and we continue to be overwhelmed by the support we’re receiving from across Texas,” Abbott Campaign Manager Wayne Hamilton said. “We are incredibly thankful to the many Texans who have contributed to our effort to ensure that Greg Abbott can continue to travel the state promoting his vision to improve education, grow jobs, preserve freedom and ultimately achieve victory in November.”
The Democratic nominee, State Sen. Wendy Davis, has raised a total of $27 million and has about $13 million in the bank. Those totals include money donated to Battleground Texas and the Texas Victory Committee.
Davis Campaign Reports $27 Million in Campaign Contributions
Jul 15th - 12:38 pm
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has raised $27 million in her bid for governor. According to the campaign, $11.2 million of that was raised between February and June and the average donation was about $105 dollars. After expenditures, the campaign has about $13 million in the bank.
The money raised includes contributions made directly to the campaign, as well as money donated to Battleground Texas and the Texas Victory Committee, which is a joint fundraising venture for Sen. Davis and Battleground Texas.
The campaign is calling its campaign finance figures “historic.” “Not only has this campaign raised record-breaking resources from more than 140,000 grassroots supporters, we have made unprecedented investments on the ground and online that will translate the excitement for Wendy Davis into votes on Election Day,” said campaign spokesman Zac Petkanas.
The Davis campaign likely still has a massive financial disadvantage. As of the last reporting period, Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott had nearly $30 million in cash on hand. He has not announced his totals for this reporting period yet.
New Abbott Ad Hits the Silver Screen
Jul 14th - 12:19 pm
The next time you go to the movies, you might find yourself screening a new ad in the governor’s race. Attorney General Greg Abbott is airing a 30-second spot at two dozen movie theaters across Texas. It urges patrons to text their support for the Republican’s run for governor. According to the Abbott campaign, this ad appears to be the first of its kind.
Abbott Threatens to Sue Feds over Illegal Immigration
Jul 3rd - 3:44 pm
Attorney General Greg Abbott says he’s planning to file a new lawsuit against the federal government over its handling of the border.
Abbott revealed his plans in an interview with Brietbart Texas, a conservative news website. His office later confirmed it with Capital Tonight. This isn’t the first time the state has threatened to sue the federal government over illegal immigration. In the 1990s, the state filed and lost a lawsuit to recover money spent on education, medical and jail costs stemming from immigrants.
This time, it appears the lawsuit would deal specifically with costs of the latest immigrant influx. In a statement, the AG’s office said:
The State of Texas is exploring any and all options, including litigation, to address the crisis our federal government has created by not living up to their Constitutional responsibility. If the federal government is unwilling to secure the border, the State of Texas will be forced to resort to litigation to recoup the costs incurred to respond to this crisis.
Jerry Strickland with the AG’s office said Attorney General Abbott is still waiting to hear back about a request for more federal funding for last month’s surge of state law enforcement at the border.
Capital Tonight: Non-Governmental Groups Describe Efforts to Aid Immigrant Kids
Jul 2nd - 8:04 pm
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
Harvey Kronberg joined us to give his take on the day’s political news, including a new report from The Dallas Morning News on donations from the head of Koch Industries’ fertilizer division to Attorney General Abbott.
While federal and state officials flock to the border demanding answers, humanitarian groups are figuring out how they can help. We spoke to Bee Moorhead from the Texas Interfaith Center about how religious leaders are working together. Plus, Austin attorney Jay Brim talked about the effort to pull together unpaid legal help for the kids involved.
Capital Tonight: Convention-al Proceedings and the Fight for Texas
Jun 27th - 9:07 pm
We visited our reporters on-scene in Dallas to see how the Texas State Democratic Convention is going, and checked in on some big names. Democrat Joaquin Castro, U.S. Rep. for San Antonio, District 20 joined us Friday. He answered our questions regarding the viability of their party, the immigration situation in South Texas, and his brother’s expected promotion to Washington. Also, we asked his opinion on some unconventional strategies which Republicans hope will dampen the festivities in Dallas this weekend.
POLITICAL PREDICTIONS
Democrats weren’t the only ones busy this weekend. Attorney General Greg Abbott, Republican candidate for Texas Governor, visited South Texas to view the detention centers housing Central American minors. A sharp increase in numbers of youths crossing the border has spurred action from several Texas political players. We spoke with Abbott to hear his solution to what some are calling a “humanitarian crisis.” Campaigns for November elections hit the ground running after each party’s state convention. In the last straight away, Republican strategist Rob Johnson and Democratic strategist Harold Cook helped us review the race and predict who’s going to pull ahead. The next few months are crucial for all the campaigns, and here at Capital Tonight, we tried to determine their next steps.
Erica Grieder with Texas Monthly and Reeve Hamilton with the Texas Tribune joined us to discuss education and security. University of Texas Regent Wallace Hall has come under investigation for suspicious activity, and as the scandal approaches resolution, we talked about possible outcomes. Then, a story far from resolution, the border security concern prompted blame, but who’s really at fault? We dug into the issue in the Reporter Roundtable.
Davis Calls for Special Session to Address Surge of Immigrants
Jun 23rd - 12:10 pm
Sen. Wendy Davis is calling for a special session, extra federal support and a declared state of emergency in response to the influx of Central American immigrants at the Texas-Mexico border.
In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Davis says the decision to add $1.3 million a week in funding for the Department of Public Safety was a “solid step” by state leaders, but that more needs to be done to address what she calls the “growing crisis on the border.” The Democratic candidate for governor is joining several of the state’s Republicans in calling for an immediate special session to “provide local agencies with the resources they need in order to do their job in protecting local communities and provide appropriate care for these individuals and families.”
She’s also calling for Gov. Perry to declare a state of emergency for the border region, in order to open up more state funds.
Sen. Davis is in McAllen to view the detention centers firsthand and talk to local officials. Her response comes on the same day that her Republican opponent in the race for governor, Attorney General Greg Abbott, is touring a temporary detention center at San Antonio’s Lackland Air Force Base with Sen. Ted Cruz.
Abbott Launches First General Election Ad, in Spanish
Jun 17th - 11:56 am
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is reaching out directly to Hispanic voters in his first general election TV campaign ad. The Spanish language spot, titled “Contamos,” features Abbott’s sister and mother-in-law, who are Hispanic. The ad will debut on Univision during the World Cup match between Brazil and Mexico. According to the campaign, the commercial will continue running on Spanish language networks throughout the World Cup.
““The story of my family mirrors the story of Texas – we are multi-cultural,” Abbott said. “The vision that I’ve outlined in my campaign for governor is one that unites all Texans – regardless of race, religion or zip code – the same way my family has been united. As governor, I will fight for a better future for all Texans.”
The English translation is below:
ROSIE PHALEN: “Meeting your in-laws is never easy.”
MARY LUCY PHALEN: “But when we met Greg Abbott, we knew that he was someone special.”
ROSIE PHALEN: “His values are our values. Faith, family and honesty.”
MARY LUCY PHALEN: “He is a loving husband and father to Cecilia and Audrey.”
ROSIE PHALEN: “For more than 30 years, Greg has been someone that we could count on.”
MARY LUCY PHALEN: “And as governor, Texas can count on him too.”
Abbott Maintains Double-Digit Lead Over Davis
Jun 12th - 1:19 pm
The latest University of Texas / Texas Tribune poll shows Republican Attorney General 
Greg Abbott with a double-digit lead over Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis. The poll, conducted between May 30th and June 8th, favored Abbott over Davis, 44 to 32 percent. Those results are similar to a UT/TT poll conducted in February, when Abbott held an 11-point lead.
The Wendy Davis campaign was quick to point out that Abbott has yet to crack the 50-percent threshold, calling Abbott the “weakest GOP governor candidate in two decades.” Campaign spokesman Zac Petkanas released this statement:
“Once again unable to crack 50%, Greg Abbott is proving to be one of the weakest Republican candidates for governor in two decades. Despite throwing the kitchen sink at Wendy Davis, he’s moving in the wrong direction and energizing our volunteer army – the largest in Texas history – to take advantage of this vulnerability by bringing hundreds of thousands of new voters into the process who won’t be reflected in any poll until they show up on Election Day.”
These numbers, however, may not be far off previous trends. According to James Henson, who co-directed the poll, Gov. Rick Perry held a four point lead over Democrat Bill White during June polling for the 2012 election.
Abbott ad strikes back at Davis using ‘Star Wars’
May 22nd - 12:36 pm
It’s no lightsaber duel, but the latest online ad from the Abbott campaign uses a little light and magic to tie his opponent to the dark side — otherwise known as Hollywood.
The minute-long ad makes the most of Sen. Wendy Davis’s trip to Santa Monica, Calif. today, where sci-fi directors J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg are hosting a fundraiser. The event costs a minimum of $1,000 to get in the door, and includes a fundraising bar of $25,000 for “VIP reception” status.
Attorney General Greg Abbott and the Republican Party of Texas have sought to portray Davis as out of touch with Texas voters by highlighting her out-of-state fundraising trips.
The ad’s YouTube page sums up the most recent attack: “A candidate for Texas governor rubbing elbows with gun-grabbing, ObamaCare-promoting, tax-raising Hollywood elites? It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi fantasy film, but when it comes to Sen. Wendy Davis, it’s a reality show.”
Watch the full ad below.
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