Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is looking to fend off Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke with a barrage of advertising spending.
Abbott’s campaign for a third term as governor spent $4.3 million to broadcast two television ads across the state in August, timing his general election push to coincide with back-to-school season, the Dallas Morning News reported. In contrast, O’Rourke only spent roughly $40,000 for limited airings in August, according to AdImpact.
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O’Rourke’s campaign has reserved almost $9 million in advertising that began after Labor Day and will run until Election Day on Nov. 8. Abbott has allocated about $5.7 million for ad buys over the same time period. These figures are expected to grow as November approaches.
Abbott had the upper hand in early advertising thanks to his massive war chest of $46 million of cash on hand — far outweighing O’Rourke’s $24 million. The governor has already spent $7.6 million on advertising for the general election as of Thursday, while O’Rourke has spent $3.2 million.
Even with his financial advantage, this is still the toughest campaign Abbott has ever faced for governor, Progress Texas President Ed Espinoza told the Washington Examiner.
“For someone like Greg Abbott, who generally ends a campaign with $50 million in the bank and just sits on that, he’s not going to be able to do that this time,” Espinoza said, arguing that “2022 is a bad year [for Republicans] and he’s an unpopular governor.”
Espinoza said the groundswell of Democratic enthusiasm following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision on abortion is helping O’Rourke’s cause in the state and giving him a fighting chance. O’Rourke has sought to visit all 254 counties in the hope of cutting into the near monopoly Republicans have on rural areas.
But O’Rourke’s record on guns continues to haunt him, according to Texas GOP strategist Brendan Steinhauser, and Abbott is running a campaign that doesn’t assume his opponent isn’t a threat.
“[Abbott’s] not taking anything for granted, but he’s not worried,” Steinhauser told the Washington Examiner. “He’s spending the time and money that it takes to ensure victory — and probably a pretty decent-sized victory.”
“There are a lot of pro-gun Democrats in the state and a ton of pro-gun independents and swing voters. I think that was probably the issue that really has hurt Beto,” he continued.
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In 2019, O’Rourke riled up gun owners when he declared, “Hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47. We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.” He walked back that declaration in February, saying, “I’m not interested in taking anything from anyone,” and that he supports the Second Amendment.
Recent polling puts Abbott ahead of O’Rourke by about 7 points. O’Rourke has been absent from the campaign trail since late last month while recovering from a bacterial infection.
