Correction: We inadvertently used Rep. Gilbert Peña’s July semiannual report in our initial analysis. His 30-day-out report is not yet available online. We have corrected it below.
State and legislative candidates with general election opponents were required to file 30-day-out campaign finance reports on Tuesday. These reports cover all contributions received and expenditures made between July 1 and September 29, and they are a good barometer of the perceived competitiveness of each race.
Generally speaking, this appears to be a quieter fundraising period than the corresponding periods in 2012 and 2014. Fewer “big bets” are being placed in races by individuals and PACs, probably because only a handful of races appear to be truly competitive this year. We expect to see some significantly larger contributions in the 8-day-out reports in the most competitive districts.
In this post, we will take a high-level look at the most competitive House races listed in order of district number.
HD23: Rep. Wayne Faircloth (R-Dickinson) out-raised former Rep. Lloyd Criss (D-La Marque), $112K to $15K, and has a $126K advantage in cash on hand. Faircloth outspent Criss, $51K to $8K. More than half of Criss’s contributions came from labor unions.
HD33 open: Republican Justin Holland out-raised challenger Karen Jacobs, $23K to $18K, and has an $18K advantage in cash on hand. Libertarian “Crazy Rick” Donaldson’s report was not available. He had not received any contributions in prior reporting periods.
HD43: Rep. J.M. Lozano (R-Kingsville) reported raising $150K, spending $204K and has $21K on hand. The report for his opponent, Marisa Yvette Garcia-Utley, was not available. Lozano’s largest cash donors for the period included Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($37K), Associated Republicans of Texas ($29K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($14K), Riviera Telephone Co. CEO Bill Colston ($10K), Texans for Education Reform PAC ($3.5K) and Red McCombs ($2.5K).
HD54 open: Republican Scott Cosper out-raised challenger Sandra Blankenship, $76K to $5K, and has a $28K advantage in cash on hand.
HD102: Rep. Linda Koop (R-Dallas) out-raised challenger Laura Irvin, $79K to $9K, and has a $40K advantage in cash on hand. Koop outspent Irvin, $88K to $7K for the period.
HD105: Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-Grand Prairie) out-raised challenger Terry Meza, $179K to $103K, and has a $125K advantage in cash on hand. Anderson’s largest contributors for the period included Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($60K), Texas Land Title Assoc. PAC ($10K), Trevor Rees-Jones ($10K) Texas House Republican Caucus PAC ($7K) and Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($4K). Meza’s largest contributors included Annie’s List ($58K), Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee ($13K) and former Rep. Domingo Garcia ($10K).
Rep. Kenneth Sheets
Victoria
Neave
HD107: Rep. Kenneth Sheets (R-Dallas) out-raised challenger Victoria Neave, $285K to $152K, and has a $148K advantage in cash on hand. Sheets’s largest contributors for the period included Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($65K), Texas Republican Representatives Campaign Committee ($20K), Harlan Crow ($10K), Trevor Rees-Jones ($10K), Texas Land Title Assoc. PAC ($7.5K), Texas Medical Assoc. TEXPAC ($7.5K) and Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($4K). Neave’s largest contributors included Battleground Texas ($29K), Eberstein & Witherite LLP ($20K), Annie’s List ($10K), Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee ($10K) and Texas State Teachers Assoc. PAC ($10K).
HD113: Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale) out-raised challenger Rhetta Bowers, $147K to $17K, and has an $85K advantage in cash on hand.
HD115: Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) out-raised challenger Dorotha Ocker, $68K to $10K, and has a $53K advantage in cash on hand. Rinaldi’s largest contributors for the period included Empower Texans PAC ($40K) and Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($10K). All of Ocker’s donors contributed less than $1K each with the exception of her law firm’s in kind contributions (office rent). Ocker outspent Rinaldi, $115K to $7K, for the period, but $99K of that was a loan repayment. After accounting for that, Ocker outspent Rinaldi, $16K to $7K.
Philip
Cortez
Rep. Rick
Galindo
HD117: Former Rep. Philip Cortez (D-San Antonio) narrowly out-raised incumbent Rep. Rick Galindo (R-San Antonio), $107K to $101K. Galindo has a narrow advantage in cash on hand, $40K to $35K, and Galindo outspent Cortez, $62K to $30K. Galindo’s largest contributors for the period included Texans for Education Reform ($50K), Associated Republicans of Texas ($15K) and Texans for Lawsuit Reform ($15K). Cortez’s largest contributors included Texas Trial Lawyers Assoc. PAC ($28K), Texas Assoc. of Consumer Lawyers PAC ($10K), Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee ($10K), Texas State Teachers Assoc. PAC ($10K) and Battleground Texas ($8K).
HD118: Challenger Tomas Uresti out-raised Rep. John Lujan (R-San Antonio) by about $2,500 as the candidates raised just under $30K collectively. Uresti has about a $2,500 advantage in cash on hand, but neither candidate has more than $3K on hand. Lujan outspent Uresti, $33K to $15K, for the period. Lujan’s largest contributor for the period was Red McCombs ($2.5K), and Uresti’s largest contributor was Border Health PAC ($5K).
HD134: Rep. Sarah Davis (R-Houston) out-raised challenger Ben Rose, $184K to $77K, and has about $104K more on hand ($161K to $57K). Rose narrowly outspent Davis, $86K to $79K, for the period. Davis’s largest contributors included Texans for Lawsuit Reform ($20K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($15K), Associated Republicans of Texas ($10K) and Richard Weekley ($10K). Almost all of Rose’s contributions were from individuals for less than $1K, and a little less than a third of his contributions came from attorneys and law firms.
HD144: Former Rep. Mary Ann Perez (D-Houston) raised $74K and has $58K on hand. Rep. Gilbert Peña’s (R-Pasadena) 30-day-out report was not yet available online. out-raised Rep. Gilbert Peña (R-Pasadena), $74K to $15K, and has a $44K advantage in cash on hand. She outspent the incumbent, $37K to $16K. Perez’s largest contributors for the period included Texas Organizing Project PAC ($13K), Texas State Teachers Assoc. PAC ($10K), U.S. Rep. Gene Green ($3.5K), Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee ($3K) and Annie’s List ($2.5K). Peña’s largest contributor was Hispanic Republicans of Texas ($3.5K).
We will do deeper dives into some of these races in the coming weeks.
