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Greg Abbott enters 2026 Texas governor’s race with staggering $106 million on hand

Greg Abbott enters 2026 Texas governor’s race with staggering $106 million on hand
3 hours 22 minutes 59 seconds ago Friday, January 16 2026 Jan 16, 2026 January 16, 2026 3:12 PM January 16, 2026 in News - Texas news
Source: https://www.texastribune.org/
Gov. Greg Abbott takes the stage before announcing his intention to run for another term as governor during an event on Nov. 9, 2025, at East River 9 in Houston. Jon Shapley for The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott is entering 2026 with a staggering $105.7 million on hand to power his reelection bid and his efforts to boost Republicans down the ballot in Texas.

Abbott raised $22.7 million from July through December with more than 48,000 contributions from every county in Texas, his campaign said, bringing his total war chest to nine figures. Over the course of his four gubernatorial campaigns, his team added, Abbott has now received more than a million unique individual contributions.

“The outpouring of support from across the state sends a powerful message about the values Texans expect our governor to defend,” Abbott campaign manager Kim Snyder said in a statement. “As socialists win elections elsewhere, Texans are stepping up to support Governor Abbott because he protects our way of life.”

Abbott’s top donors over the last six months of the year included Midland oil executive Javaid Anwar, who gave over $1.6 million, adding to the millions he has previously donated to the governor over the years. Casino magnate Miriam Adelson and Texas Republican Leadership Fund, a group backed by GOP megadonor Alex Fairly, both gave Abbott's campaign $1 million. And Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Roku founder Anthony Wood, data center developer Black Mountain Power, and Capital Funding Group CEO John Dwyer gave Abbott's campaign $500,000 apiece.

Abbott has vowed to spend heavily to flip Harris County, a Democratic stronghold where Republicans have been competitive in recent elections.

“I’ve got $90 million in my bank account, and I’m going to spend most of it in Harris County, Texas, to make sure, precinct by precinct, we turn out voters who voted in the presidential election, turn out voters who never voted before,” Abbott said in October. “We got to win Harris County and make Harris County dark red.”

Meanwhile, Abbott’s leading Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, raised $1 million in the 10 weeks since she launched her campaign. The average donation she received was under $50, her campaign said, emphasizing she did not take any contributions from corporate PACs. She also loaned her campaign $300,000 of her own money.

“I’m so grateful to be running a people-powered campaign that is fighting for a more prosperous and affordable future for working Texans,” said Hinojosa, D-Austin. “Greg Abbott can keep lining his pockets with the money he gets from selling out working families, but across the state, we are seeing Texans fired up and ready for change.”

Hinojosa’s largest donation, $25,000, came from philanthropist and winemaker Suzanne Booth. The Texas American Federation of Teachers' political fund also gave her campaign $10,000, and former Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa — the candidate’s father — donated $6,250 for campaign signs.

Bobby Cole, a retired firefighter and rancher also running in the Democratic primary, has just $27,465 on hand after raising nearly $61,000 from July through December and spending almost $154,000, according to his filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.

And former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, another Democratic candidate, has just $4,622 on hand after raising $33,286 during the six-month reporting period. Most of that sum, $25,000, came from Houston attorney Mike Lowenberg.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

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