January semiannual reports were due for state officeholders and candidates on Tuesday. They cover contributions received and expenditures made during the second half of 2017. For most primary challengers and open-seat candidates, they are the first window into their potential competitiveness in March. This report looks at Senate races.
Rep. Cindy
Burkett
Sen. Bob
Hall
SD2: Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) out-raised Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale), his primary challenger, $414K to $322K, and he has a $198K to $43K advantage in cash on hand. Hall’s largest contributors include Empower Texans PAC ($100K), Cisco businessman Farris Wilks ($100K), Texas Right to Life PAC ($50K), Dallas businessman Darwin Deason ($25K), Flower Mound retiree Darlene Pendery ($17.5K), Midland businessman Tim Dunn ($15K), Odessa oil businessman Charles Saulsbury ($10K) and Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($10K). Empower Texans PAC ($50K), Wilks ($25K), Saulsbury ($10K), Texas Right to Life PAC ($5K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($5K) and Dunn ($5K) also contributed to Hall in June, which was covered by his July semiannual report. Together, these six donors have given Hall 65% of his total contributions received in 2017. Burkett’s detailed report is not yet available online.
SD8 open: Phillip Huffines out-raised Angela Paxton, $524K to $475K, and he holds a $1.7M to $338K advantage in cash on hand. Paxton’s largest contributors include Frisco businessman Anthony Ewing ($25K), former Sen. John Carona ($17.5K), Frisco businessman Dean Kennedy ($15K), Weatherford insurance agent Al Boenker ($10K), Dallas businessman Darwin Deason ($10K), Dallas auto dealer John Eagle ($10K), Austin lobbyist Rusty Kelley ($10K), Midland oil and gas businessman Kyle Stallings ($10K), Frisco businessman Robert Stallings ($10K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($10K) and Texas Optometric PAC ($10K). Huffines’s detailed report is not yet available online.
SD10: Sen. Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) was narrowly out-raised by Democratic candidate Beverly Powell, $140K to $133K, but the incumbent has a nearly 6-to-1 advantage in cash on hand, $365K to $65K. Burton is unopposed in the Republican primary. Powell faces Allison Campolo, who raised $30K and has $4K on hand.
Sen. John
Whitmire
SD15: Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston) reported having $8.4M on hand, the highest total for any Democratic candidate or officeholder.
SD17: Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) out-raised primary challenger Kristin Tassin, $253K to $90K, and has a $546K to $61K advantage in cash on hand.
SD25: Sen. Donna Campbell (R-New Braunfels) has a 70-to-1 advantage in cash on hand over primary challenger Shannon McClendon. Campell raised $108K while McClendon raised $35K. Democratic candidate Steve Kling raised $36K.
SD30: Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) out-raised Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Frisco), $429K to $80K, but Fallon out-spent Estes, $575K to $279K. Fallon has a $1.5M to $578K advantage in cash on hand, fueled by a $1.8M loan balance. Estes’s largest contributors are Fort Worth retiree Alice Walton ($50K), AT&T PAC ($10K), Midland executive Spencer Armour ($10K), Wichita Falls neurologist Danny Bartel ($10K), former Sen. John Carona ($10K), Charter Communications PAC ($10K) and Texas Land Title Assoc. PAC ($10K). Fallon’s detailed report is not yet available online. Craig Carter, the third Republican in the race, raised less than $1K and has $29K on hand.
SD31: Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) out-raised both of his primary challengers and has a more than 10-to-1 advantage in cash on hand over both of them. Seliger raised $528K and has $1.7M on hand. Mike Canon raised $107K and has $133K on hand. Victor Leal raised $60K and has $47K on hand.
©2018 Texas Election Source LLC
