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 covers House races where no incumbent is running.
HD4 open: Former Rep. Stuart Spitzer (R-Kaufman) raised $115K, more than quadruple his closest rival, but Keith Bell has a nearly $50K advantage in cash on hand, thanks to a $160K loan balance. Spitzer’s largest contributors for the period are Texas Right to Life PAC ($37K), Empower Texans PAC ($15K), Flower Mound retiree Darlene Pendery ($15K), Austin conservative activist Stacy Hock ($10K), Rep. Jonathan Stickland ($10K), Fort Worth retiree Mike Olcott ($5K) and Midland oil and gas businessman Kyle Stallings ($5K). Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Terrell) is running for CD5.
Thomas
McNutt
HD8 open: Thomas McNutt reported having $301K on hand, nearly triple his two primary opponents combined. He raised $141K for the period, bringing his total contributions received to $462K during 2017. Cody Harris raised $91K and has $59K on hand, and Linda Timmerman raised $17K and has $42K on hand. Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) is retiring.
HD13 open: Ben Leman leads the five-candidate field with $100K on hand, almost all the product of a $100K loan. Jill Wolfskill raised $31K, which is about $25K more than the other candidates combined, and she has $30K on hand. Texas Right to Life PAC contributed $20K to Wolfskill. The other candidates raised less than $5K and have less than $5K on hand. Rep. Leighton Schubert’s (R-Caldwell) abrupt abandonment of his re-election plans gave candidates little time to organize for this race.
HD15 open: Former Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) reported raising $61K, and he has $69K on hand as he seeks his former seat, which is being vacated by Rep. Mark Keough (R-The Woodlands). Keough contributed $500 to Toth’s campaign. Toth received $8K from Texas Right to Life PAC and $5K each from Empower Texans PAC, Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) and The Woodlands attorney Eric Yollick. Jackie Waters’s report is not available online.
HD45 open: Amber Pearce raised $127K, almost all of it coming from her family business, Diamond P Farm and Ranch, LLC in Round Mountain ($125K), and she has $114K on hand. Ken Strange is second with $16K raised and $20K on hand. The other three candidates combined raised $10K and have $7K on hand. Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) is running for CD21.
HD52 open: Two of three Republicans’ reports are available. Cynthia Flores out-raised Jeremy Story, $42K to $12K, and she has a $17K to $4K advantage in cash on hand. Nearly half ($20K) of Flores’s contributions came from Rep. Larry Gonzales (R-Round Rock). Flores was Christopher Ward’s report is not available online. Democrat James Talarico, who is unopposed in the primary, raised $75K and has $71K on hand. Gonzales is retiring.
HD62 open: Reggie Smith raised $42K, nearly half of which ($20K) came from Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman), and has $34K on hand. Brent Lawson raised $14K and has $14K on hand. Kevin Couch’s report is not available online. Phillips is running for district judge.
HD89 open: Candy Noble has a $117K to $24K advantage in cash on hand over John Payton, mostly due to a $100K loan. She out-raised John Payton, $41K to $28K. Rep. Jodie Laubenberg (R-Wylie) is retiring.
Jared
Patterson
HD106 open: Jared Patterson has a $73K to $1K advantage over Clint Bedsole in cash on hand, and Patterson out-raised Bedsole, $99K to $36K. Bedsole outspent Patterson, $82K to $56K. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Frisco) is running for SD30. Patterson’s largest contributors include Texas Right to Life PAC ($12.5K), Empower Texans PAC ($10K) and Flower Mound retiree Darlene Pendery ($10K).
HD109 open: Two candidates each raised less than $2.5K, and reports for the other two are not available online. Rep. Helen Giddings (D-DeSoto) is retiring.
HD113 open: Jonathan Boos raised $84K and has $70K on hand. Reports for his two primary opponents are not available online. The two Democratic candidates have $5K on hand combined. Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale) is running for SD2.
HD121 open: Marc Whyte leads the four candidates whose reports are available with $86K in contributions and $75K on hand. Whyte contributed $60K to his campaign. Matt Beebe was second in contributions with $50K and narrowly in third in cash on hand with $49K. Beebe’s detailed report is not available on line. Texas Right to Life contributed $25K and Empower Texans PAC contributed $10K to him, according to their reports. Steve Allison was third in contributions with $33K and edged out Beebe for second in cash on hand with $49K. Two other candidates’ reports are not available online. Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) is retiring.
HD126 open: Sam Harless out-raised Kevin Fulton, $56K to $40K, but Fulton has a slight edge in cash on hand, $56K to $53K. Fulton’s detailed report is not available online. Empower Texans PAC contributed $20K and Texas Right to Life PAC contributed $15K to his campaign, according to their reports, accounting for 87% of his contributions. Gail Stanart was third with $11K in contributions and $22K on hand. Rep. Kevin Roberts (R-Houston) is running for CD2.
©2018 Texas Election Source LLC
