Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has reserved nearly $20 million in advertising for his reelection campaign, The Texas Tribune is reporting.
According to the news outlet the ad bookings emphasize the financial advantage the Republican governor has over Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat who is challenging him.
So far, the reservations, which Abbott’s campaign has characterized as initial ad buys, cover a wide spectrum:
- $2.75 million for Hispanic media
- $8.8 million for television
- $8.13 million for digital platforms
The last campaign finance reports in February showed Abbott had $49.8 million cash on hand, compared to O’Rourke who had $6.8 million. The new reports are expected on July 15.
After Abbott’s primary victory in March, his chief strategist, Dave Carney, said the campaign will spend over $100 million against O’Rourke, the Tribune said.
But O’Rourke’s campaign said Abbott’s ad buys are a sign the governor is running scared.
“Abbott and his corporate donors have no choice but to resort to blanketing the airwaves with millions of dollars in false ads as his poll numbers plummet, his job approval tanks, and Texans of both political parties continue to oppose his dangerous extremism,” O’Rourke campaign spokesperson Chris Evans said in a statement.
The last campaign finance report, in mid-February, showed Abbott at a tremendous advantage — $49.8 million cash on hand to O’Rourke’s anemic $6.8 million, according to the Texas Tribune.
Also, in the latest Quinnipiac poll, Abbott was ahead by 5 percentage points, 48% to O'Rourke's 43%.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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