The amount of Texas money flowing to Democratic presidential candidates has nearly tripled compared to four years ago and the sheer number of donors has grown almost 600 percent, yet another sign of heightened interest in the 2020 battle for the White House in the Lone Star State.

Already, there have been more than 8,500 Texas donors who have combined to make almost 33,000 donations to Democratic presidential campaigns, according to a Hearst Newspapers analysis of the latest Federal Election Commission data, which tracks donations of $200 or more. Four years ago, just over 1,400 donors combined to make 2,700 donations to candidates, the records show.

For the candidates vying to challenge President Donald Trump next year, it has meant more than $6 million for their presidential campaigns, nearly triple the $2.2 million raised at the same point in 2015 when Hillary Clinton contended with Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, among others, for the Democratic nomination.

“It’s one more data point that shows how much interest there is in the 2020 presidential race,” said Jay Aiyer, a political science assistant professor at Texas Southern University.

More Information TEXAS DONORS’ IMPACT ON DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY Below is a list of Democratic presidential candidates who have raised at least $200,000 from Texas donors according to Federal Election Commission records. Beto O’Rourke: $3.1 million Julian Castro: $691,000 Joe Biden: $642,000 Pete Buttigieg: $522,000 Kamala Harris: $337,000 Bernie Sanders: $304,000 Elizabeth Warren: $293,000

Read More

For subscribers: After Rep. Pete Olson, more GOP Congressional retirements likely coming, recent history shows

Leading the way is former El Paso Congressman Beto O’Rourke. While his standing in the polls and his national fundraising have slowed, Texans are still sending him checks. Since April, he’s raised almost another $1 million from donors in Texas and has now raised over $3.1 million overall from his home state.

Former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has pulled in almost $700,000 from Texas donors. Former Vice President Joe Biden is next with about $642,000, though he’s been in the race just since late April.

At least seven candidates reported raising at least $200,000 from Texans.

Texas Democrats say the surge in donations is yet another sign that Texans see the state as more competitive than it has been in decades.

“Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country,” said Manny Garcia, the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

For years, Texas has been known as a fundraising stop where candidates would quietly raise money to pay for campaign operations in other states. But this year Garcia said candidates are frequently flying to places such as Houston for public events, forums and more public fundraising stops to gin up interest in a crowded primary field with an eye on winning the state in March.

After the first four states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina vote in February, Texas is scheduled to be one of 15 states to vote on Super Tuesday on March 3. With both California and Texas in the mix on that day, it could seal the Democratic nomination depending on how the first four states play out.

Garcia said more than past years, he gets the sense campaigns are trying to not just raise money in Texas but build relationships with voters and donors here for the long haul.

A Democrat has not won Texas in a presidential race since 1976, but polls such as one earlier this year from Quinnipiac University have shown Trump narrowly leading or even trailing some Democratic candidates, including Biden. Earlier this summer, Trump campaign officials downplayed leaked internal polls reported by ABC News that showed Trump in a tight battle to carry Texas.

For subscribers: June polls point to Texas as swing state in 2020

Aiyer isn’t ready to declare Texas a swing state, but he said it’s clear there is more energy in the Democratic Party in Texas. That stems partly from 2018 when O’Rourke came with 3 percentage points of defeating U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — the closest a Democrat has come to winning statewide office since the 1990s.

No place in Texas has been a bigger financial boost for Democratic candidates this year than Houston, which has accounted for more than $1.4 million so far in campaign contributions. Already the candidates have combined for more than 40 campaign events in Houston since the start of the year, including three presidential candidate forums in the city. In September the leading candidates will again be in Houston for the 3rd presidential debate.

While O’Rourke is leading the way in fundraising, FEC records show hundreds of donors are not sold on just one candidate and have been giving checks to two, three and sometimes four different candidates. At least 270 donors who have given at least $200 to O’Rourke also gave at least $200 to another Democrat in the field.

“That really speaks to the fact that the race is so unsettled right now,” Aiyer said.