HD45: Dripping Springs health and wellness businesswoman Carrie Isaac, wife of former Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) established a campaign committee for an unspecified House seat, which is almost certainly HD45. The former representative confirmed to the Texas Tribune’s Alexandra Samuels that his wife would challenge Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) as a Republican.

SC TBD: McAllen attorney Brandy Voss established a campaign committee for an unspecified seat on the Texas Supreme Court. Recent campaign contributions suggest she would run as a Democrat. She was a clerk for former Chief Justice Thomas Phillips.

CD18: Houston resident Marc Flores established a campaign committee for a potential primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston). We were unable to identify the candidate conclusively, but he may be a former Houston grassroots manager for the Beto O’Rourke campaign. Flores is the third potential Democratic primary challenger to declare for the race, joining Houston educator Stevens Orozco and Houston optometrist Bimal Patel.

CD21: Llano rancher Jennie Lou Leeder reauthorized her campaign committee for a potential challenge of U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin) as a Democrat. Leeder ran unsuccessfully for CD11 in 2018 (18%) and SD24 in 2016 (28%).

CD22: Sugar Land former foreign service officer and 2018 Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni reauthorized his campaign committee for a potential rematch against U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land). Olson defeated Kulkarni, 51%-46%, in November. Kulkarni raised more than $1.5M for his 2018 race.

Campaign Finance: Today (Thursday) was the deadline for local candidates on the May 4 uniform election ballot to file their 30-day-out campaign finance reports, if required.

Dallas: Rep. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas) led the mayoral field in contributions with $524K and cash on hand with $840K. He spent $151K between January 1 and March 25.

  • Michael Ablon raised $341K, spent $708K and has $57K on hand
  • Albert Black raised $112K, spent $204K and has $25K on hand
  • Scott Griggs raised $225K, spent $98K and has $110K on hand
  • Debra McBee raised $376K, spent $292K and has $680K on hand
  • Regina Montoya raised $332K, spent $343K and has $151K on hand
  • Steve Smith reported no contributions, spent $144K and has no cash on hand
  • Miguel Solis raised $416K, spent $136K and has $265K on hand; and
  • Former Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) raised $55K, spent $44K and has $17K on hand.

Combined, the candidates have raised nearly $2.4M since January 1.

In the D13 race, incumbent Jennifer Gates out-raised former Mayor Laura Miller, $197K to $124K and outspent her, $52K to $40K. Gates has a $199K to $84K advantage in cash on hand.

Fort Worth: Mayor Betsy Price raised $242K, spent $151K and has $433K on hand, all ahead of challenger Deborah Peoples’s $73K raised, $33K spent and $40K on hand. The other two candidates in the race reported no contributions.

San Antonio: Mayor Ron Nirenberg raised $152K, spent $159K and has $283K on hand. Challenger Greg Brockhouse raised $51K, spent $45K and has $15K on hand. Several other candidates’ reports were not yet available.

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