FOLLOW THE MONEY: Data Center Special Interests Continue to Pour Millions into Greg Abbott’s Campaign [The Texas Tribune]
DALLAS, TX – Career politician Greg Abbott has spent more than 10 years rolling out the red carpet for massive AI data centers, inviting them to Texas with some of the largest tax breaks in the nation that now cost the state more than $1 billion a year in lost revenue.
Just last November, he vowed to make Texas the global “epicenter” of AI development, even as local communities increasingly voiced concerns about water shortages and skyrocketing utility bills.
Now, as six recent polls show him losing to Gina Hinojosa and as he tries to convince voters he’s suddenly cracking down on the industry, a new investigation from The Texas Tribune reveals data center special interests have continued to pour millions into Abbott’s campaign.
According to the Tribune, Abbott has accepted $9 million from data center-related donors since July 2025 alone – more than 10% of all the money he raised during that period.
In total, Abbott has accepted more than $22 million in political contributions from data center special interests over his entire time in office.
The Tribune also reported on several limitations to Abbott’s data center crackdown, including the fact that penalties for water-reporting violations top out at just $500 and his administration lacks authority to prosecute violators while at the same time his administration is in court fighting to withhold information from the public about where Texas data centers are located and how much water and energy they’re using.
“Career politician Greg Abbott is trying to fool Texas voters into thinking he’s taking a tough stance on data centers, but it’s all smoke and mirrors to try and save his failing campaign. The richest people in the world would not still be cutting him checks if they thought he was serious about holding them accountable. Texas communities worried about data centers should know that if Greg Abbott is re-elected in November, he’ll go right back to his old playbook – more tax breaks and free rein for data centers while working families get less water and higher electricity bills,” said Texas Democratic Party Spokesman Jacob Long.
Read for yourself:
Texas Tribune: Greg Abbott raked in $9 million from data center-related donors as he called for regulations
By Apurva Mahajan and Taylor Goldenstein | October 19, 2026
Greg Abbott has raised about $9 million from data center-related donors since July 2025 — roughly 13% of all the money he has taken in during that period. More than half, $4.9 million, came directly from people or companies that develop, own or operate data centers.
The money kept pouring in even as Abbott publicly tried to crack down on the industry. Data center-related donors gave Abbott $1.5 million in June, the same month he called for new regulations and ending a major industry tax break.
After Abbott announced his August pause on new data center grid approvals, he received another $2.8 million from data center-related donors — his biggest monthly haul from the industry this election cycle.
Abbott is “for the first time fighting for his political life” as polling has shown him neck-and-neck with Gina Hinojosa, forcing him to balance his new crackdown rhetoric with his longstanding pro-business posture.
Abbott’s major data center-related donors include some of the biggest names in his political orbit: Airbnb co-founder and Tesla board member Joe Gebbia gave $1.5 million, Black Mountain CEO Rhett Bennett and his company gave a combined $1 million, Elon Musk gave $500,000, and former Fermi America CEO Toby Neugebauer gave $100,000.
