A few things we wanted to share with you today:
HD18: Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton) announced he would not seek re-election and endorsed Liberty Co. Attorney Wes Hinch to succeed him. Hinch has since announced he would seek Otto’s seat. Hinch was elected County Attorney in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Liberty Co. represents just under half of the general election vote in HD18, but it provided 60% of the vote in the 2012 Republican primary. At least two other individuals have set up campaign committees for the race (See CTA Filings below).
CTA Filings: The following individuals have filed campaign treasurer appointments signaling intent to run for legislative seats:
- SD24: Jon Cobb and former San Antonio council member Reed Williams. We’re not sure who Cobb is at this time. Cobb may (and we emphasize may) be a Hays Co. resident who serves on the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corp. board and is the son of Hays Co. Judge Bert Cobb. Williams is currently on the San Antonio Water System board of trustees.
- HD18: Ricky Smith and Adam Strahan. We have no information about them at this time, though we suspect Strahan may be a local Tea Party activist.
- HD33: Heath Mayor Lorne Liechty (R-Heath). He is the second candidate with Heath ties in the race, joining former Mayor Pro Tem Justin Holland.
- HD35: Former Rep. Jose Aliseda (R-Beeville) appears to be seeking his old seat back. He won the seat in 2010 with 52% of the vote and did not seek re-election.
- HD102: Laura Irvin. We have no information about her at this time.
- HD118: Albert Uresti IV. He is the son of Bexar Co. Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti III.
All known candidates, whether they have filed a CTA or not, are listed in our Crib Sheets:
Re-election Announcements: Several legislators announced they would seek re-election, including:
- Rep. Greg Bonnen (HD24)
- Rep. Dan Flynn (HD2)
- Rep. Ina Minjarez (HD124), and
- Rep. Wayne Smith (HD128)
Abbott Fundraising: Gov. Greg Abbott’s campaign reported raising $8.25 million during the last nine days of June. This is the most Abbott has raised in the July semiannual reporting period for an odd-numbered year:
- January 1-June 30, 2015: ~$8,250,000
- 2013: $4,791,017
- 2011: $1,569,300
- 2009: $1,169,775
- 2007: $771,679
- 2005: $741,000
- 2003: $50,000
- 2001: $772,216
- 1999: $250
- 1997: $95,392
- 1995: $800
Abbott’s reported total is nearly $4 million more than former Gov. Rick Perry raised immediately after the 2009 session ($4,231,086), which led into his last re-election bid. Abbott is not up for re-election until 2018.
Houston Mayor: Candidates raised more than $7.5 million during the first half of 2015, according to media reports and campaign press releases:
- Stephen Costello – $1.8 million (incl. $250K in personal funds and $262K in transfers)
- Adrian Garcia – $1.5 million
- Bill King – $1.25 million (incl. $500K in personal funds)
- Marty McVey – $1.175 million (incl. $1M in loans and $75K in personal funds)
- Ben Hall – $800K (incl. $500K in personal funds)
- Rep. Sylvester Turner – $750K (who only had 9 days to raise money)
- Chris Bell – $400K
Only Costello and Garcia announced cash-on-hand figures. Both claimed approximately $1.3 million on hand. Turner began with $900K from his state account.
