Abbott Fears Blue Wave in Making
with Money Pitch for House Slate

Capitol Inside
October 10, 2024

Governor Greg Abbott sent mixed message to Republicans on Thursday when he sought to raise cash for his campaign by warning that a blue wave is roaring toward the Lone Star State at the same time the GOP hopes to pick up seats in the Texas House at the polls next month.

The good news in an Abbott solicitation email came when the governor identified nine Republican candidates for the Legislature's lower chamber in contests that he characterized as battleground races. Three of the GOP nominees on the Abbott list - Robert Garza of Del Rio, Don McLaughlin of Uvalde and Denise Villalobos of Corpus Christi - are attempting to flip House seats from blue to red on November 5.

"At the state level, Texas Republicans actually have an opportunity to EXPAND our majority in the House this election, which is why we’re working to ensure I have more conservative allies to help me continue delivering wins for all Texans like lower taxes, a safe and secure border, and school choice," Abbott said.

But Abbott pointed to the bad news in the money pitch for the apparent sake of striking fear in GOP donor circles with the general election just 26 days away.

"If they have their way, Kamala Harris and the radical Democrats will continue to do their worst - keep the borders open, defund the police, eliminate school choice, and more!" the governor asserted. "We need all hands on deck to stop the BLUE WAVE headed straight for Texas and beyond. If there was ever a time to give, it's today."

The House battlefield in Abbott's views also includes fights that feature GOP State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, Caroline Harris Davila of Round Rock, Janie Lopez of San Benito and John Lujan of San Antonio in re-elections bids in the face of formidable competition from Democrats. Another House race in the Alamo City on the Abbott target chart has Marc LaHood in a clash with Democrat Laurel Swift in a race that's been open since the GOP nominee unseated an incumbent Republican in the primary election in March.

Abbott gives the impression that he will forward the money that's directed to him for House battles to the nine contenders he touted in the fundraising appeal with the competing visions for playing defense against a wave and coming out ahead in the end. But that might take a stretch of faith to some degree in light of the fact that the governor only contributed $325,000 to the designated battleground contenders in the past three months himself.

Abbott's lavished millions of dollars on Republican incumbents, challengers and candidates for open seats before the primary election and runoff vote in May. Abbott said the unprecedented largess was necessary to pass a school choice bill that he tried and failed to push through the Legislature in regular and special session in 2023. Abbott had more to spend from his own account thanks to record contributions from a wealthy school choice advocate who's the leading investor in TikTok.

Abbott gave Republican representatives and challengers hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece or more for targeted primary contests for House seats. Abbott ended June with a cash balance above $51 million after the historic outlays in races that had Republicans pit against Republicans.

But the governor donated only $325,000 combined to Republicans on his battleground slate in the period that ran from July 1 to September 26.

GOP Speaker Dade Phelan donated $100,000 to nine Republicans in the same span of time including Lujan, Lopez, Meyer, Harris Davila and Villalobos.

Abbott wants to defuse the blue wave that he envisions with victories in South Texas in races in districts that are blue including two in border areas where Garza and McLaughlin are doing battle with State Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass and Cecilia Castellano of Von Army respectively.

Villalobos appears to be the Republican with the least chance for success on the Abbott slate in a fall fight with former House Democrat Solomon Ortiz Jr. Ortiz's father with the same name represented the area in Congress for decades. President Joe Biden and Beto O'Rourke carried the Corpus Christi-area district by significant margins in the last two general elections.

Abbott gave Villalobos $53,000 for polling and ads in September. The governor contributed $41,000 to McLaughlin in September when he gave Garza more than $60,000 in a bid for the seat that Morales is defending. Abbott donated between $45,000 and $52,000 to the five incumbent House Republicans on his new slate for the November 5 general election.

Abbott donated more than $562,000 to LaHood in a single transaction in February for his bid to give State Rep. Steve Allison of San Antonio the boot in the primary. Allison had sparked Abbott's wrath with a vote to kill his prize school vouchers plan last year. The governor spent more than $50,000 for services for LaHood's campaign against Swift the Democrat last month.

Abbott's donated $532,006 to Alan Schoolcraft on the same day that he gave slightly more to LaHood. Abbott backed Schoolcraft in an act of revenge aimed at State Rep. John Kuempel of Seguin for his vote against school choice in late 2023.

The amount that Abbott has spent so far on House battlefield targets may seem meager compared to his primary generosity and the massive surplus he still has despite it.