Beto O’Rourke will not share $38 million he raised with other Dem Senate candidates

Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said Monday that he won’t share the $38 million his campaign raised in the third quarter of the year with other Senate Democratic candidates.

“No,” O’Rourke told a reporter who asked if he would share the funds with candidates in tighter races, according to the Washington Examiner.  

“I’m focused on Texas. Most of our contributions have come from Texas. All of them have come from people. Not a dime from PACs,” he said, according to the report.

O’Rourke added that he is honoring “the commitment that those who’ve contributed to this campaign have made to me.”

{mosads}”If they want to contribute to someone else, they should do so. If they want to contribute to a campaign that’s going to win this historic victory for Texas and the country, then I’m grateful for the contribution and I’m going to make the most of it, so that’s what we’re focused on,” he said. 

A spokesman for O’Rourke’s campaign confirmed to The Hill that O’Rourke doesn’t plan to share the funds.

O’Rourke’s comments come after The New York Times reported that O’Rourke’s fundraising has caused tension in the Democratic Party, with some in the party feeling that O’Rourke should share the funds with candidates who are in better positions to win.

Recent polling has shown O’Rourke trailing his Republican opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz (R), by as many as 9 percentage points ahead of next month’s election.

O’Rourke announced on Friday that he raised more than $38 million in the third quarter of the year, money he said came from more than 800,000 contributions.

“It’s going to give us the resources we need to finish this campaign as strong as we possibly can,” O’Rourke said last week. “We are doing something absolutely historic.”