Abbott announced his candidacy for governor of Texas in the 2014 election. In the first six months of 2011, he raised more money for his campaign than any other Texas politician, reaching $1.6 million. The next-highest fundraiser among state officeholders was Texas comptroller Susan Combs, with $611,700. Abbott won the Republican primary on March 4, 2014, with 91.5% of the vote. He faced State Senator Wendy Davis in the general election. Abbott promised to "tie outcomes to funding" for pre-K programs if elected, but said he would not require government standardized testing for 4-year-olds, as Davis accused him of suggesting. When defending his education plan, Abbott cited Charles Murray: "Family background has the most decisive effect on student achievement, contributing to a large performance gap between children from economically disadvantaged families and those from middle class homes." A spokesman for Abbott's campaign pointed out that the biggest difference in spending was that Davis had proposed universal pre-K education while Abbott wanted to limit state funding to programs that meet certain standards. Davis's plan could reach $750 million in cost and Abbott said that her plan was a "budget buster", whereas his education plan would cost no more than $118 million. Overall, Abbott said the reforms he envisioned would "level the playing field for all students [and] target schools which don't have access to the best resources." He called for greater access to technology in the classroom and mathematics instruction for kindergarten pupils. Abbott received $1.4 million in campaign contributions from recipients of the Texas Enterprise Fund, some of whose members submitted the proper paperwork for grants. Elliot Nagin of the Union of Concerned Scientists observed that Abbott was the recipient of large support from the fossil fuels industries, such as NuStar Energy, Koch Industries, Valero Energy, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. Abbott was endorsed by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Dallas Morning News, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the Tyler Morning Telegraph. He and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, were endorsed by the National Rifle Association and received their 'A' rating. Abbott defeated Davis by over 20 percentage points in the November general election. 2018 election In January 2017, Abbott was reportedly raising funds for a 2018 reelection bid as governor; , he had $34.4 million on hand for his campaign, of which he had raised $9 million during the second half of 2016. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick had