LTGOV: The campaign of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) announced he raised $4.5M since February 24, which was the end of the reporting period for the primary election, which is the second-highest contribution figure ever reported by a LTGOV candidate for any single reporting report. Patrick’s $5.2M raised during the second half of 2016 is the record holder. Patrick has raised around $43M since January 1, 2014. He will report having close to $14M on hand, which is the third highest figure ever reported by a LTGOV candidate, trailing only his own $18.1M as of December 31, 2017, and $16.3M as of June 30, 2017.

SD19 special: Early voting begins Monday for the special election to fill the unexpired term of former Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio).

HD114 open: The Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC endorsed Democrat John Turner over Republican Lisa Luby Ryan for the seat currently held by Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas). Ryan defeated Villalba, who received TREPAC’s endorsement, in the Republican primary, 53%-47%.

Meanwhile, Dallas ISD board members Edwin Flores, Dustin Marshall, Dan Micciche and Miguel Solis also endorsed Turner.

SEN: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R) campaign said he raised $4.6M during the second quarter — less than half the amount raised by his opponent, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-El Paso) — and he will report having $10.4M on hand. It’s unclear if the Cruz figures are just for his re-election PAC or if they include funds raised for the Ted Cruz Victory Committee and/or the Freedom and Security PAC.

CD23: The Gina Ortiz Jones campaign released a new ad, “No One Had to Ask.”

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