In AG race, Paxton collects $2.8 million despite controversies; Guzman adds $3.7 million

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, fighting for his political life against three GOP primary opponents who have continually hammered him on ethics, raised almost $2.8 million in the last half of 2021 — his strongest fundraising effort since 2018 despite the attacks on his character.

Only one primary opponent, Eva Guzman, out-raised Paxton from July through December by collecting almost $3.7 million, leaving the former Texas Supreme Court justice with $2 million to spend at year's end.

Meantime, Paxton's fundraising left his campaign with $7.5 million in the bank at the end of 2021, according to finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

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Among the other candidates in the GOP primary, state Land Commissioner George P. Bush raked in $1.94 million, leaving his campaign with $3.2 million in the bank.

And U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, a late addition to the attorney general's race, raised $1 million in less than two months, leaving his campaign with $882,000 in reserve.

Money will be an important commodity as Paxton's opponents work to overcome his high name recognition that has been buoyed by aggressive rounds of lawsuits that challenged Democratic policies under the Biden and Obama administrations. Paxton also filed numerous lawsuits to further then-President Donald Trump's policies and made national headlines by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 election victories in four states in an unsuccessful attempt to reinstall Trump in the White House.

More: Texas AG Paxton to appeal Austin judge's ruling that Operation Lone Star is unconstitutional

Trump repaid Paxton's efforts by endorsing the incumbent last summer, dealing a blow to Bush, who is the grandson and nephew of former presidents and who had courted Trump's favor.

Early voting for the March 1 primaries begins Feb. 14.

First elected in 2014 as attorney general, the state's top lawyer, Paxton got a free pass four years later when no Republicans challenged him in the primary despite felony indictments for securities fraud and failing to register with state securities officials — charges based on private business deals in 2011 and 2012 for which he was arrested, photographed and quickly released only seven months after taking office.

Those charges remain pending amid numerous pretrial appeals by Paxton's defense lawyers and prosecutors.

More: AG Ken Paxton must turn over Trump rally records or face lawsuit, Travis County DA says

Since his last election, however, Paxton became embroiled in another controversy when eight high-ranking officials in the attorney general's office accused him of misconduct, alleging he used the power of his office to help a friend and political donor, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul. The FBI launched an investigation based on the allegations.

Paxton's legal troubles provided his opponents with a common refrain on the stump:

• Guzman has promised to restore integrity and competence to the office, saying she felt "compelled to challenge Ken Paxton’s disrespect for the office he holds."

• Bush, who has occasionally labeled Paxton "corrupt Ken," has warned GOP voters that Democrats are targeting the attorney general's race "knowing it's our weak point."

• Gohmert has raised the prospect of Paxton winning the primary, only to be indicted with no way to remove his name from the November ballot, giving the office to the Democratic candidate.

In 2018, a Democrat making his first run for elected office, Justin Nelson, lost by a relatively close 3.6 percentage points after focusing on Paxton's securities fraud charges to make ethics a centerpiece of his campaign.

Paxton has denied wrongdoing, saying the security fraud charges were politically motivated and attributing the allegations of bribery and official misconduct to "rogue" employees who opposed a legitimate investigation into Paul's allegations that his business and personal properties were improperly searched by investigators in 2019.

Paxton's fundraising got a boost from a December event with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and his campaign bragged that the incumbent had more in the bank than the combined total of his Republican opponents.

"I want to thank all of my many supporters for continuing to trust in me to deliver for them and our state," Paxton said in a written statement.

More: Paxton asks Supreme Court to dismiss whistleblower lawsuit against him

Guzman's haul was notable for including $600,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a powerful lobby group that had directed an additional $200,000 to her campaign in June after having funneled more than $550,000 to Paxton — plus almost $800,000 in pro-Paxton advertising — in previous election cycles.

More than half of Gohmert's campaign money came from two Republicans — $300,000 from state Rep. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, now running for state Senate, and $250,000 from state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, now running for Tarrant County district attorney.

Bush's largest donors included five individuals who each gave $50,000. According to his campaign, Bush's support came from more than 1,000 individual donors, well above Guzman and Gohmert — showing grassroots backing while providing a bankroll that positions Bush to force Paxton into a primary runoff.

On the Democratic side, campaign fundraising totals were notably lower among the five Democrats running for attorney general.

Joe Jaworski, former Galveston mayor and grandson of Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski, led the way with $453,000 raised in the last half of 2021, leaving his campaign with $158,000 to spend at the end of December.

Dallas civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt raised $405,000 and had about $30,500 left at year's end.

Brownsville lawyer Rochelle Garza raised just under $120,000, with $89,300 on hand, while Houston lawyer Mike Fields and Dallas lawyer S. "T-Bone" Raynor raised no money last year, campaign finance records showed.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: In AG race, Paxton nabs $2.8M despite controversies; Guzman adds $3.7M