Campaign Finance Reports Due: Today (Tuesday) is the deadline for federal candidates and officeholders to file their ear-end campaign finance reports, which cover contributions received and expenditures made since their post-general reports, if they were on the general election ballot in 2016, or their October quarterly reports.
SEN: The Ted Cruz campaign said the senator raised more than $1M during the last three months of 2016 and has $4.2M on hand as of December 31. That $1M is comprised of amounts raised for his campaign PAC, the Ted Cruz Victory Committee and the Jobs, Freedom, Security PAC.
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin), who has been mentioned as a potential primary challenger, reported just over $105K on hand. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso), who is considering challenging Cruz, reported having $399K on hand after raising just over $200K during the last month of 2016.
State of the State: Addressing a joint session of the Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed “the state of Texas is exceptional.” He listed four emergency items: Child Protective Services reform, sanctuary cities, ethics reform, convention of states. Abbott did not mention Voter ID or any other election issue. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), who has been mentioned as a potential statewide candidate in 2018, issued a statement disagreeing with Abbott’s assessment. “Our state government is on the wrong track,” Castro said, citing several potential campaign planks as he criticized state leadership.
Arlington: Mayor Jeff Williams filed for re-election.
Rockwall: Mayor Jim Pruitt filed for re-election.
