House candidates facing primary opposition raised nearly $11M and spent over $13M during the roughly monthlong period covered by their 8-day-out reports. While that’s a fair amount, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) outspent the entire slate of House candidates by himself.
Generally speaking, this cycle is missing some of the big bets, particularly from backers of scorecard conservative groups, that we have observed in recent past cycles. Part of this may be a function of the significant amount of money flowing from those donors to the Don Huffines campaign, but a number of challengers carrying these groups’ endorsements are not seeing the big campaign contributions that historically accompanied them.
Our Crib Sheets have been fully updated to reflect the latest results. Highlights are discussed below.
House Republicans
HD12 (Safe R): Rep. Kyle Kacal (R-College Station) out-raised Ben Bius, $310K to $73K, but they each spent the almost exact same amount: $289K. A third candidate in the race raised and spent less than $3K but could nonetheless tip the race to a runoff.
HD14 (Likely R): Rep. John Raney (R-College Station) out-raised John Harvey Slocum, $238K to $81K, and outspent him, $183K to $139K. Raney has a $108K to $6K advantage in cash on hand (COH). Slocum’s largest contributors for the period were Houston energy executive Jay Graham ($25K) and Partners for a Better Bryan PAC ($21K), the latter of which reported having less than $2K on hand as of December 31. The donors behind that contribution might not be disclosed until July.
HD15 (Safe R): Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) out-raised Maris Blair, $111K to $58K, and outspent her, $147K to $37K. He holds a $204K to $61K advantage in COH.
HD17 open (Safe R): Stan Gerdes raised $105K, more than double the rest of the field combined, but was outspent by Paul Pape, $128K to $107K. Pape raised just $10K but loaned his campaign another $100K. Tom Glass raised $26K, second most of the field, and spent $39K. The other two candidates combined raised $5K and spent $6K.
Gerdes’s largest contributors were Alexandria, Va. investor Steven Peterson ($12K); Galveston energy executive Vicki Hollub ($10K); Austin-based Public Blue Print LLC ($10K); Leander gun manufacturer Mark LaRue ($8K); Houston executive John Domolky ($5K); San Antonio voucher advocate James Leininger ($5K); Austin consultant Brandy Marquez ($5K); College Station retiree Richard Smith ($5K). Glass’s largest contributors were Paige real estate agent Bill Swinney ($12K) and Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($10K).
HD19 open (Safe R): Justin Berry out-raised Ellen Troxclair, $64K to $31K, surprisingly low figures for both candidates. Troxclair outspent Berry, $115K to $45K, and she has a significant $436K to $29K advantage in COH should the two meet in a runoff. Despite having the endorsements of Texas Right to Life and Texas Values Action, Nubia Devine raised less than $5K and spent $17K.
Berry’s largest contributor was Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($44K). Berry is one of its largest contributors ($13K), and that PAC’s top contributor was Fort Worth attorney Mollee Westfall ($62K). Troxclair’s largest contributor was Texans for Texas Wine ($10K).
HD23 open (Likely R): Abel Longoria led the field with $52K in contributions and $139K in expenditures. Gina Smith raised $31K and spent $92K. Patrick Gurski raised $37K and spent $52K.
HD31 (Likely R): Rep. Ryan Guillen (R-Rio Grande City) raised $593K and spent $727K for the period, bringing his totals for the election cycle to $964K in contributions and $999K in expenditures. Mike Monreal raised $42K and spent $63K. For the cycle, Monreal has raised and spent about a tenth as much as the incumbent facing his first Republican primary.
Guillen’s largest contributors included Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($147K), Republican State Leadership Committee ($100K), Speaker Dade Phelan ($38K), Houston beverage distributor John Nau III ($25K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($25K), Texas Sands PAC ($25K), Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($15K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($13K), Dallas investor Harlan Crow ($10K) and Spicewood travel plaza owner Don Wasek ($10K). Monreal’s largest contributor was San Antonio business owner Donald Rackler ($10K).
HD52 open (Lean R): Caroline Harris out-raised Nelson Jarrin, $87K to $67K, and outspent him $109K to $78K. The largely self-financed Pat McGuinness raised $2K and spent $81K. Jarrin’s top contributors included Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($38K), Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND ($5K) and Texas Medical Assoc. TEXPAC ($5K). Harris’s detailed report was not yet available.
HD60 (Safe R): Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) raised $279K, nearly $200K more than his nearest rival, but was outspent by the largely self-financed Mike Olcott, $169K to $154K.
HD61 open (Likely R): Frederick Frazier pulled away from his rivals, raising $166K and spending $182K. Paul Chabot raised $16K and spent $91K. Jim Herblin raised $20K and spent $29K.
HD62 (Safe R): Rep. Reggie Smith (R-Van Alstyne) out-raised Shelley Luther, $298K to $103K, and outspent her, $187K to $107K. He has a $216K to $43K advantage in COH. There can be no runoff, and there are no other candidates who filed for the seat, so that COH balance will not help Smith after Tuesday. Luther’s top contributor was Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($93K), which supplied 90% of her contribution total.
HD63 open (Likely R): Ben Bumgarner led the field with $94K in spending, followed by Nick Sanders’s $21K in expenditures. Jeff Younger led the field in contributions with $22K, but he spent just $9K.
HD64 (Safe R): Rep. Lynn Stucky (R-Sanger) out-raised Andy Hopper, $183K to $75K, and outspent him, $94K to $62K. Stucky has a $246K to $85K advantage in COH. Like Smith in HD62, Stucky has no other opponents, so that COH will not help him after Tuesday. Hopper’s top contributors were Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($55K) and Flower Mound retiree Darlene Pendery ($10K).
HD70 open (Toss Up): Jamee Jolly raised $203K, nearly 20 times the combined total for the rest of the field, but was outspent, $69K to $45K, by the largely self-financed Eric Bowlin.
HD71 (Safe R): Rep. Stan Lambert (R-Abilene) narrowly out-raised Sam Weatherby, $44K to $35K, and was narrowly outspent by the challenger, $26K to $18K. Lambert still has $233K in COH. While he has a general election opponent, the seat will be effectively decided on Tuesday. Weatherby was the sole contributor to his campaign.
HD73 open (Safe R): Barron Casteel out-raised Carrie Isaac, $144K to $59K, and outspent her, $133K to $112K. Neither candidate has much left in the bank, $35K for Casteel and $19K for Isaac. Casteel’s largest contributors were Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($21K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($14K) and Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($10K). Isaac’s largest contributor was Rep. Mayes Middleton ($35K), and she reported a $10K pledge from Houston conservative activist Kathaleen Wall which is not included in her fundraising total.
HD81 (Safe R): Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) raised $129K – among the smaller figures for incumbents facing primary challengers – and spent $90K. The report for challenger Casey Gray was not available.
HD84 open (Likely R): Carl Tepper lapped the field with $279K in contributions, but David Glasheen’s $338K in expenditures was $300K more than anyone else. He loaned his campaign another $400K. Kade Wilcox raised $19K and spent $38K.
HD91 (Likely R): Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) raised $312K and spent $290K. Her nearest rival, David Lowe, raised $46K and spent $66K. No one else in the race raised more than $1K or spent more than $10K. Lowe’s largest contributors were Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($15K) and Flower Mound retiree Darlene Pendery ($4K).
HD93 (Likely R): Laura Hill out-raised Nate Schatzline, $130K to $35K, and outspent him, $75K to $57K. Cary Moon leads the field with $98K in COH but spent just $27K.
HD122 open (Likely R): The four candidates combined to spend just over $1M, led by Elisa Chan’s $393K. Adam Blanchard ($231K), Mark Cuthbert ($221K) and Mark Dorazio ($188K) also spent competitively, the latter two fueled mostly by loans. Blanchard raised $390K, followed distantly by Dorazio ($46K) and Chan ($23K).
HD133 open (Likely R): Four of the candidates spent at least $100K for the period, and collectively they spent $1.05M. Shelly Barineau ($320K) and Will Franklin ($316K) were the top spenders, followed by Mano DeAyala ($255K) and Greg Travis ($129K). DeAyala led the field with $121K in contributions, followed by Barineau ($93K) and Franklin ($56K).
HD138 (Likely R): Rep. Lacey Hull (R-Houston) raised $195K and spent $50K, well ahead of her two challengers. Josh Flynn raised $13K, bringing his contribution total for the cycle to just $14K.
HD150 (Likely R): Rep. Valoree Swanson (R-Spring) raised $208K and spent $272K. Former Rep. Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) reported no contributions and spent $112K. The other two candidates raised a total of $25 and spent less than $3K.
House Democrats
HD22 open (Likely D): Joseph Trahan raised $26K and spent $42K. Manuel Hayes’s report was not yet available.
HD37 open (Lean D): Luis Villarreal Jr. out-raised Ruben Cortez, $28K to $23K, and outspent him, $55K to $38K. The each have just over $17K on hand.
HD38 open (Safe D): Jonathan Gracia out-raised Erin Gamez, $80K to $41K, and outspent her, $112K to $55K. Combined they have $5K on hand – all in Gracia’s account.
HD42 (Safe D): Rep. Richard Raymond (D-Laredo) out-raised J.D. Delgado, $161K to $31K, and outspent him, $141K to $27K.
HD51 open (Safe D): Of the candidates who filed reports, Lulu Flores led the field in contributions ($42K) and expenditures ($85K), followed by Matt Worthington, who raised $28K and spent $54K. It does not appear that Mike Hendrix has filed a report since his January semiannual report, when he reported raising $63K and spending $19K. No other candidate raised or spent more than $6K.
HD76 open (Likely D): The race continues to attract few resources. Suleman Lalani raised $34K and spent $65K to lead the field, but no one else spent more than $10K. Particularly surprising is the lack of fundraising by Sarah DeMerchant, the three-time Democratic nominee for HD26. She has raised less than $1K over the election cycle.
HD79 (Safe D): Rep. Art Fierro (D-El Paso) out-raised Rep. Claudia Ordaz-Perez (D-El Paso), $95K to $17K, but was outspent, $45K to $16K. Fierro’s largest contributors were Texas Trial Lawyers Assoc. PAC ($24K), Austin-based Carriage House Partners ($10K) and Texas Leads PAC ($10K).
HD92 open (Likely D): Salman Bhojani narrowly out-raised Tracy Scott, $31K to $26K, but outspent her, $161K to $12K.
HD100 open (Safe D): Venton Jones led the field with $20K in contributions and nearly $20K in expenditures as the race continues to attract little attention from campaign donors.
HD114 open (Safe D): Former U.S. Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas) led the field with $48K in contributions but was outspent by Charles Gearing, $118K to $54K. Kendall Scudder raised $15K and spent $28K, and Chris Leal raised $8K and spent $20K. Alexandra Guio does not appear to have filed a report since her January semiannual report.
HD142 (Safe D): Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) out-raised Candis Houston, $66K to $20K, and outspent her, $58K to $17K.
HD147 open (Safe D): Three candidates have separated themselves from the field. Danielle Keys Bess raised $47K and spent $17K. Reagan Flowers raised $41K and spent $37K. Jolanda Jones raised $37K and spent $73K. No other candidate raised more than $4K. Two candidates each spent barely over $5K.
©2022 Texas Election Source LLC
