AUSTIN –  Since November 2023, Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, neither of whom are on the ballot in 2024, received nearly $10 million combined in individual-donor contributions to their political campaigns. 

Gov. Abbott received a historic $6 million donation from out-of-state private school voucher supporter, Jeff Yass. The voucher system Yass supports would remove funds, originally intended for public schools, and funnel them into subsidizing private school budgets in Texas.  

Last November, Common Cause Texas sounded the alarm about the then-record breaking $3 million contribution sent to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick from Paxton allies during his impeachment trial.  

Texas is one of only eleven states that has no limit on the amount a wealthy individual can contribute to a candidate campaign.  

In response to this lack of donor contribution limits, Anthony Gutierrez, Executive Director of Common Cause Texas issued the following:   

“Texas is witnessing wealthy interests outspending the contributions of individual Texans at a record pace, and our representative democracy is paying the price. 

“Public policy bends in the direction of wealth all over America but nowhere more so than here in Texas. A campaign finance system that puts no limits whatsoever on how much a rich person can give a politician is just straight up legalized bribery, period.  

“Dan Patrick received $3 million from a group that wanted to influence the Ken Paxton corruption trial, and it worked. Greg Abbott got $6 million to do everything he could to take money out of public schools and put those dollars into a private school voucher scam, and he did.  

“As long as we have this corrupt system in place, Texans can expect politicians to keep prioritizing wealthy special interests over the public interest. 

“The obvious solution to make the system fairer for all would be for the Texas legislature to pass a bill capping political contributions, and we’ll be fighting to make that happen.”