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Ahead of Texas GOP runoff, AG candidate George P. Bush out-fundraises incumbent Ken Paxton

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the Republican Attorneys General Association PAC gave $500,000 to Attorney General Ken Paxton's reelection campaign. Some numbers reflecting donations to Texans for Eva Guzman have been updated.

AUSTIN, Texas - George P. Bush raised $2.3 million ahead of his runoff Tuesday with two-term Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who raised $2 million from March 2 to Saturday.

Bush, who is leaving his land commissioner post to challenge Paxton for the GOP nomination for attorney general, will face Paxton again after neither garnered a majority of the votes cast in the March 1 Republican primary.

Paxton led with 42.7% of the primary vote, while Bush received 22.8%, forcing the runoff. The remaining 34.5% went to Rep. Louie Gohmert and former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.

From July to December, Paxton raised $2.8 million to Bush's $1.9 million, according to finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Paxton had the support of the Washington, D.C.-based Republican Attorneys General Association PAC, which had donated $500,000. The Trump-endorsed incumbent still has $4.4 million in cash on hand — more than Bush.

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But Eva Guzman had raised the most of the primary candidates. From July through December, she raised $3.7 million. From Jan. 1 to Feb. 19, she raised $3.6 million to Paxton's $1.2 million and Bush's $1.5 million.

With Guzman no longer in the running, Bush drew the support of some of Guzman's donors, including real estate developer Harlan Crow, billionaire Drayton McLane and philanthropist Nancy Kinder. Meanwhile, Paxton received a $50,000 donation from hotelier Robert B. Rowling who had donated $850,000 over the course of Guzman's campaign.

Top donations to Bush include $100,000 from oil and gas billionaire Jeffery Hildebrand on April 5 and $200,000 in April from oil pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren, who was a $100,000 top donor for Bush in February. Paxton received $200,000 from Cisco-based THRC Holdings in April. THRC Holdings is managed by Wilks Brothers LLC, whose founders have consistently supported Paxton's reelection campaign.

Karina Erickson, spokesperson for the Bush campaign, wrote in a statement that Bush appealed to Guzman's and Gohmert's supporters. Erickson said the fundraising numbers are a clear message from the Republican Party that Paxton is unfit for office. Paxton is charged with two counts of securities fraud and one count of failing to register with state securities regulators based on 2010 to 2011 private business deals.

"Seeing these donations should not be a surprise, as it is clear that George P. Bush is surging in the polls, heading towards victory on election day," Erickson said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton waves to supporters with his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, during a primary election night event on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in McKinney, Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton waves to supporters with his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, during a primary election night event on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in McKinney, Texas.

Polling shows, however, that voters might be willing to overlook Paxton's legal troubles. Joshua Blank, Texas Politics Project research director, said April data from the group's surveys indicate 63% of Republicans had a favorable view of Paxton while only 40% had a favorable view of Bush. On the other hand, only 7% had an unfavorable view of Paxton while 26% had an unfavorable view of Bush. The numbers are similar among people who identify as strong Republicans, who are likely to make up the small share of voters expected to vote in the runoff.

"It's not surprising to see the anti-Ken Paxton donors solidifying behind George P. Bush. The issue is it's not clear that there's a similar sentiment among the voters," Blank said.

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Moreover, fundraising money might not be much of an indication of whom Texans will vote for.

"When you see fundraising numbers, it's not really indicative of voters because, first of all, donors are a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of all voters," Blank said. "But also, in Texas where a few donors can make huge donations pretty much at will, the overall amount of fundraising is not necessarily indicative of any sort of underlying widespread support on its own."

Democrats are choosing between Brownsville lawyer Rochelle Mercedes Garza and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski for their attorney general nominee. Garza raised nearly $334,000 and Jaworski nearly $373,000 from Feb. 20 to May 14.

Early voting is underway and ends Friday.

Data reporter Caroline Ghisolfi contributed to this report.

Contact Nusaiba Mizan at nmizan@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @nusaiblah.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: George P. Bush raises more than Ken Paxton ahead of Texas AG runoff