Here’s how many millions Democrats spent failing to get Stacey Abrams and Beto O'Rourke elected

Democrats poured in close to $200 million this election cycle to aid perennial loser candidates Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Beto O'Rourke in Texas in their gubernatorial races against Republican incumbents, records show

Per Washington Examiner:

Democrats poured in close to $200 million this election cycle to aid perennial loser candidates Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Beto O'Rourke in Texas in their gubernatorial races against Republican incumbents, records show.

Abrams, who conceded Tuesday to Gov. Brian Kemp and as of this writing trails by 7.5 percentage points with 98% reporting, raked in about $100 million through her campaign and leadership committee, according to state filings. O'Rourke, who similarly conceded to Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday and trails the Republican by 11 percentage points with 97% reporting, raised at least $77 million.

In comparison, Kemp's campaign and his leadership committee raised at least $82 million, filings show. Abbott raised at least $103 million.

The war chests built by Abrams and O'Rourke come on the heels of both candidates losing in prior elections despite Democrats hailing them as part of the next generation of culture war liberal politicians. Abrams lost by 1.4 percentage points in the 2018 gubernatorial election to Kemp and peddled false claims that it was stolen. The Democrat then founded a group in 2018 called Fair Right Action in order to combat "voter suppression."

"Unfortunately for Stacey Abrams, money can't buy happiness ... or elections," Danielle Repass, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Republican Party, told the Washington Examiner. "Gov. Brian Kemp has a proven record of putting the Peach State first while Stacey Abrams does not; the choice was obvious from the beginning."

O'Rourke, on the other hand, has struggled electorally since leaving his U.S. House seat in Texas to run for Senate against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2018. After losing to Cruz, O'Rourke ran a failed presidential campaign in 2020. O'Rourke has sought to nab the youth vote by stumping on college campuses and centralizing culture war issues such as gun control, marijuana legalization, and LGBT rights.

For instance, O'Rourke has sought to tighten firearms laws and said when he was running for president, "Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47." His presidential campaign even started selling shirts with a portion of that slogan.

But his left-wing policy positions have made him deeply unpopular in Texas, according to Matt Mackowiak, a Republican strategist in the Lone Star State.

"He is going backwards," Mackowiak told the Washington Examiner, explaining that he thinks O'Rourke's campaign struggled in 2022 because it focused on "convincing people" Texas is a "terrible state" and, secondly, placing bets on issues that aren't popular in Texas such as gun control.

"He ran an MSNBC campaign in a red state," said Mackowiak. "He ran a progressive campaign in a red state, and it didn't work."

It remains unclear what is next for Abrams and O'Rourke. One Republican strategist told the Washington Examiner they would not be shocked if O'Rourke decided to run for Senate against Cruz once more, noting that O'Rourke could also seek to relocate to another state to run elsewhere.

1 year, 9 months ago

Governors in Iowa, North Dakota and Alabama join GOP colleagues in banning TikTok for state employees

The Republican governors of three more states have joined the growing number of GOP governors who are banning TikTok among state government employees amid security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media platform

1 year, 10 months ago

Arizona Governor Creates Shipping Container Border Wall

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has had hundreds of double-stacked shipping containers topped with razor wire placed on the state’s border with Mexico

1 year, 10 months ago

Stacey Abrams’s Georgia Nonprofit Could Face Criminal Investigations for Unlicensed Fundraising

New Georgia Project's charity license has lapsed in at least nine states

1 year, 10 months ago

Biden says ‘more important things’ than border visit, despite 59 trips to Delaware, 8 stops for ice cream

Biden has yet to visit southern border despite historic crisis under his watch

1 year, 10 months ago

Governor Kristi Noem delivers annual Budget Address, says the state can afford grocery tax cut

In about thirty minutes of remarks, Governor Kristi Noem laid out her administration would like to see nearly $2.2 billion spent over the course of the next fiscal year and a half.

1 year, 10 months ago

‘A Clear And Present Danger To Its Users:’ South Carolina Gov. Bans State Employees From Using TikTok Amid National Security Concerns

South Carolina became the second state in the union Monday to permanently ban state employees’ electronic devices from using TikTok amid federal officials sounding the alarm that the Chinese-based social media app threatens national security