Federal candidates’ pre-primary reports were due today (Thursday). These reports disclose contributions received and expenditures made between January 1 and February 12. Most candidates have filed as of our press time, and our Crib Sheets have been updated with the latest numbers from those reports.
In general, these reports show candidates clearly separating themselves from rivals, even among the large fields for some seats.
U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw
Republican CD22 candidate Kathlaleen Wall technically raised the most money during the period out of all the candidates, but she personally contributed all but $8K of the $1.65M she reported raising. If we exclude self-funding, then U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston) led all candidates with $1.2M in contributions, edging out U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R), who raised just under $1.2M. Eight others raised at least $250K for the period:
- U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) raised $728K
- Democratic SEN candidate M.J. Hegar raised $624K
- Republican CD7 candidate Wesley Hunt raised $568K
- Republican CD22 candidate Pierce Bush raised $425K
- Democratic CD28 primary challenger Jessica Cisneros raised $343K
- Democratic CD21 candidate Wendy Davis raised $330K
- Republican CD32 candidate Floyd McLendon Jr. raised $285K; and
- Democratic CD2 candidate Sima Ladjevardian raised $252K.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) was next with $245K in contributions, nearly $100K less than his primary challenger, followed by Democratic CD23 candidate Gina Ortiz Jones with $201K and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin) with $200K.
SEN: The Democratic field raised approximately the same amount as U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R)’s $1.16M. M.J. Hegar raised more than half of it ($624K), followed by Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez ($180K), Sen. Royce West ($173K) and former Houston council member Amanda Edwards ($127K). Hegar spent $777K, nearly double West’s $391K. Cornyn has $12M on hand.
CD2: U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston), who is unopposed in the primary, raised $1.2M and has $2.7M on hand. Sima Ladjevardian raised $252K, well ahead of Elisa Cardnell’s $59K.
Wesley
Hunt
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher
CD7: Republican Wesley Hunt raised $568K, more than four times the amount raised by U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) and more than 10 times the amount raised by any other Republican whose report was available as of press time.
CD10: Each of the three Democratic candidates out-raised U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin) but none of them separated from each other or raised more than $83K. Shannon Hutcheson outspent Pritesh Gandhi, $622K to $439K. McCaul, who has no primary opposition, has $893K on hand.
CD11 open: August Pfluger has separated himself from the field. His $160K in contributions, $584K in expenditures and $587K on hand are each at least four times the figure of the nearest rival. Four other candidates spent at least $47K: Brandon Batch ($103K), Jamie Berryhill ($59K), J. Ross Lacy ($52K) and J.D. Faircloth ($47K).
CD12: U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Fort Worth) out-raised primary challenger Chris Putnam, $728K to $114K, and outspent him, $794K to $274K.
CD13 open: Three Republicans have separated themselves from the field. Josh Winegarner raised $157K and spent $298K. Chris Eckstrom raised $108K, increased his loan principal to $850K and spent $407K. Ronny Jackson raised $153K and spent $69K.
CD17 open: No candidate raised $100K, but five spent more than that amount. The fundraising leader was former U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) with $92K, followed by Renee Swan ($62K) and Scott Bland ($51K). George Hindman spent $440K, followed by Swann ($331K), Sessions ($308K), Elianor Vessali ($134K) and Scott Bland ($113K).
CD21: Former Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) out-raised U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin), $330K to $200K), and they each have $1.3M on hand.
Kathaleen
Wall
Pierce
Bush
CD22: Kathaleen Wall’s $1.65M in contributions to her campaign made her the top fundraiser and spender ($1.61M), by far. Pierce Bush raised $425K and spent $549K, both easily the second highest figures in the field. Greg Hill ($170K) and Fort Bend Co. Sheriff Troy Nehls ($104K) were the only others to report at least $75K in expenditures, although a couple of other candidates whose reports were not yet filed were capable of joining them. Wall is poised to cross the $10M threshold in personal spending on this and her unsuccessful 2018 run for CD2.
CD23 open: Tony Gonzales II raised $97K and spent $144K to lead the Republican field, but the eventual primary winner will almost certainly face a well-funded Democratic candidate in Gina Ortiz Jones, who raised $201K, spent $221K and has $2.0M on hand.
CD24 open: Two Republicans have separated themselves from the field. Former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne out-raised Sunny Chaparala, $176K to $1K, and outspent her, $382K to $129K. Chaparala’s ability to self-fund keeps her competitive in cash on hand, but she trails Van Duyne, $230K to $173K. Two Democrats have also separated themselves. Kim Olson was narrowly out-raised by Candace Valenzuela, $109K to $105K, but Olson outspent her, $381K to $183K, and Olson has a nearly $225K advantage in cash on hand.
CD28: Primary challenger Jessica Cisneros out-raised U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo), $343K to $245K, but was outspent by the incumbent, $1.1M to $662K. Cuellar has more than $2M on hand compared to Cisneros’s $296K.
CD32: Two Republicans separated themselves from the pack. Floyd McLendon Jr. out-raised Genevieve Collins, $285K to $181K, but was narrowly outspent by her, $343K to $326K. The eventual winner will face U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (D-Dallas), who raised $197K and has $2.1M on hand.
©2020 Texas Election Source LLC
