How did a massive $100 million campaign war chest dwindle so fast while the underdog rapidly closed the polling gap?

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Abbott’s $100 million-plus edge shrank quickly because his campaign spent at an extraordinary rate, while Hinojosa benefited from a late, efficient surge in fundraising and a political environment that made each dollar go further. Campaign finance filings show Abbott began the year with roughly $105.7 million on hand, then spent more than $141 million over the cycle, including about $70 million from July through late September alone. Even though he continued to raise money — more than $20 million in the latest period — that pace of spending drove his cash reserves down to about $17 million to $18 million by late September. In effect, the war chest did not vanish because fundraising stopped; it was burned through by an aggressive, early and sustained spending strategy. Hinojosa closed the gap in polling without matching Abbott dollar for dollar because her campaign’s money arrived later and was more incremental, much of it from small donors. She raised about $13 million in the latest reporting period and said she brought in another $3 million after Sept. 25, helped by favorable polls. Her campaign reported more than 248,000 contributions from over 136,000 donors, with many first-time givers, suggesting expanding grassroots energy rather than reliance on a few major checks. Polling also points to movement among independents, a key reason the race tightened. Several surveys showed Hinojosa gaining sharply with those voters, even as other polls still showed Abbott ahead narrowly…

Pritzker, DGA Send Gina Hinojosa $2 Million as Texas Governor Race Tightens

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Pritzker, DGA Send Gina Hinojosa $2 Million as Texas Governor Race Tightens

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