The Slatest

Our First Look at Wendy Davis’ Fundraising in a Post-Filibuster World

Texas Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) is surrounded by supporting Texas representatives and senators after leading a rally in support of Texas women’s right to reproductive decisions at the Texas state capitol on July 1, 2013 in Austin

Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images

The Texas Tribune brings us the early math on Wendy Davis’ post-filibuster haul:

According to figures that her campaign expects to report to the Texas Ethics Commission, the Fort Worth Democrat raised $933,000 between June 17 and June 30. Counting money left over from 2012, she ended the reporting period with more than $1 million in the bank. …

Davis’ late June haul demonstrates that the senator has a base beyond the traditional big-name donors — and outside the state’s borders. About $580,000 of the money came from Texas, her campaign’s figures show, meaning more than $300,000 came from somewhere else. She got a total of 15,290 separate donations, most of them under $250, and more than 13,000 of them were less than $50; of the contributions she received, some 4,900 were from Texas, figures compiled by her campaign indicate.

That’s only a two-week window we’re dealing with, so it’s a pretty small sample size. Still, it may not do justice to Davis’ newfound position as a liberal star. She made her epic stand on Tuesday, June 25, so it’s probably safe to assume that the vast majority of that cash came in during the final days of the period in question. Her next campaign disclosure could make an even bigger splash, assuming of course she and her allies are able to harness liberal rage in the wake of the GOP-led passage of new, sweeping abortion restrictions.

While the headlines will no doubt fuel talk of a potential Davis’ gubernatorial bit, it’s worth pointing out—as the Tribune does—that the man she’d likely square off with if she does run managed to bring in roughly five times the cash without the benefit of the rather glowing national news coverage enjoyed by Davis. Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott—who officially announced his campaign for governor this past Sunday but had long been seen as Rick Perry’s likely successor—raised $4.8 million for the same June 17-30 period and now has more than $20 million in the bank. Those figures—combined with recent polling numbers—suggest Davis may be better served sticking around in the Senate. That said, her newfound fundraising ability also makes it clear that she’ll likely have the cash to make plenty of noise on the gubernatorial campaign trail if she so chooses.