AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott doesn’t flash the White House ambitions of his predecessors or their big personalities. But in just five years he has quietly built his own distinction: Taking in more cash from donors than any governor in U.S. history.
Few others even come close. Since first running in 2013, Abbott has accepted more than $120 million in political contributions, an Associated Press review of campaign filings shows. He has been showered with big-donor money on a scale that is prohibited in most states and far beyond limits for members of Congress — more than 200 times receiving contributions of $100,000 or more.
The only others in his league would be former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker and New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who since their first successful runs in 2010 raised $119 million and $111 million respectively, according to the National Institute on Money in Politics. But they needed years more to get there.
