Texas not a swing state, but Lone Star money fuels both campaigns

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports Texans have combined to donate more than $65 million directly to the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns, a windfall that helps pay for the deluge of ads and events focused on a handful of swing states far from Texas. Generous Texans have long sent money to out-of-state campaigns, said Brendan Glavin, deputy research director at OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in politics. “Texas has a history of not just Republicans but Democrats raising a lot of money,” Glavin said. “There’s clearly a good donor base in Texas for candidates.” Texas has not backed a Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and based on the latest polling that’s not likely to change this year. But like busy commuters stopping by an ATM for quick cash, the major-party candidates and top surrogates have made regular stops in Texas to collect checks from donors.

The candidates’ principal campaign committees — Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc. and Harris for President — are limited to donations of $3,300 per person, per election, or no more than $6,600 this cycle for those who also donated in the primary. These organizations are the source of many of the texts and emails that bombard voters with pleas for smaller donations, and many Texans have responded. OpenSecrets found Texans had donated at least $35 million to Trump and $30 million to Harris in this cycle, through the end of August. Harris’ total includes money donated to President Joe Biden before she replaced him atop the ticket. A breakdown by major metropolitan areas found Dallas sent Harris about $6.9 million and Trump $6.5 million, OpenSecrets said. The Fort Worth-Arlington area gave Trump $3 million and Harris $1.9 million. Those numbers don’t include donations made more recently to the chief campaign organizations for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.