SEN: U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) said at a Texas Tribune event that he is considering challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 or U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. O’Rourke, a supporter of term limits, has pledged to leave office after four terms. His fourth term would end in 2021.
CD23: The Republican Party of Texas has filed an ethics complaint against former U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine), accusing him of failing to file as a lobbyist acting on behalf of the city of Del Rio. A statement issued by the campaign said Gallego was “hired as an attorney, not a lobbyist.” Meanwhile, the Gallego campaign charged that U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-San Antonio) broke U.S. House ethics rules when footage from a congressional hearing was used in an ad. A Hurd spokesman said the ad shows the congressman doing his job.
We previously reported on the late-train money pouring into the race. Since that report, another $600K, mostly from outside groups making independent expenditures, has been spent. Total outside spending and campaign contributions to the candidates now exceed $16.6M.
AG: Attorneys representing AG Ken Paxton have filed a motion in federal court seeking to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s amended complaint against him. The SEC’s case was originally dismissed by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant in early October and re-filed two weeks later. Meanwhile, Paxton’s legal team let pass a deadline to file a request for rehearing with the Court of Criminal Appeals, which last month denied Paxton’s request to have state securities fraud charges tossed. At the time, Paxton’s team said it ask the court to reconsider its decision, but the deadline for that motion has passed. The case would return to District Judge George Gallagher’s court in Collin Co., for trial sometime next year.
