The Texas Democrat running against Sen. Ted Cruz raised nearly three times more money than his Republican opponent during the first six weeks of 2018.
Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a little-known Texas politician who launched a bid to unseat Cruz last March, hauled in $2.3 million between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, according to Federal Election Commission records filed this week.
Cruz raised $800,000 during the same period and spent nearly $1.2 million. However, the Texas Republican has more cash-on-hand than O’Rourke, with a war chest of about $6 million.
Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Cruz, said the staggering difference in his and O’Rourke’s fundraising haul is thanks to the recent efforts of establishment Democrats to boost their candidate ahead of the state’s March 6 primaries.
“[Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer did a great job. He came to Texas early in the year and got national liberals really excited about the chance to elect a pro-amnesty, anti-gun, pro-big government liberal to represent Texas,” Frazier said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News.
She added, “We don’t believe that’s the direction Texans want and are confident this will energize them to ensure they turn out to vote for someone who wants to keep taxes low, keep repealing regulations, including Obamacare, and uphold the Texas values that have made and kept our state strong.”
Behind the scenes, Cruz has sounded the alarm. The Texas senator’s campaign reportedly sent an email out to GOP donors last week with the headline: “This is serious.”
