Congressional Campaign Finance: Quarterly campaign finance reports were due over the weekend for federal officeholders and certain candidates. Highlights include:

  • U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R) report is not currently available. We previously reported that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s principal campaign account ended the quarter with $4.8M on hand. His three PACs combined raised $1.7M during the first three months of the year from nearly 18K people. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-El Paso) report is also not available. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) raised $219K and has $283K on hand. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Austin), once mentioned as a potential primary challenger, raised $222K and has $149K on hand.
  • U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Corpus Christi) raised $88K and has $51K on hand, the smallest cash-on-hand figure of any incumbent from Texas.
  • U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Dallas) raised $1K and has $54K on hand, adding to speculation that she may not seek re-election.
  • U.S. Rep. John Culberson (R-Houston) raised $133K and has $132K on hand.
  • U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Dallas) raised $345K and has $864K on hand.
  • U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-San Antonio) raised $510K and has $500K on hand.
  • U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-San Antonio) raised $204K and has $702K on hand.

Among challengers, only David Balat, a primary challenger to Culberson, has more than $50K on hand. A $50K loan to his campaign accounted for most of his $61K in receipts. Only a handful of challengers filed reports. Historically, most federal challengers fail to meet the fundraising or spending thresholds that trigger reporting requirements.

Arlington: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorsed incumbent Mayor Jeff Williams and incumbents Michael Glaspie (D8), Kathryn Wilemon (D4) and Lana Wolff (D5).

Dallas: The Dallas Morning News endorsed incumbents Adam Medrano (D2), Erik Wilson (D8) and Tiffani Young (D7); and challengers Dwaine Caraway (D4), a former council member, and Alex Dickey (D6).

San Antonio: The San Antonio Express-News endorsed incumbent Roberto Treviño (D1); challengers Richard Montez (D5) and Ana Sandoval (D7) over council members Shirley Gonzales and Cris Medina, respectively; and Pat Stout (D8 open). Meanwhile, D9 open candidate Patrick Von Dohlen has asked a district court to declare opponent Lynlie Wallace, the chief of staff to Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio), ineligible based on residency.