The seven non-judicial statewide elected officials on the 2018 ballot collectively have more than $72M on hand, nearly triple the amount from the corresponding elected officials in 2010, the last year the slate of statewide officers ran for re-election. Leading the way is Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) record-breaking $40.8M war chest, which is nearly double the amount he had on hand four years ago.
Gov. Greg
Abbott
Abbott has raised $101.5M since the end of the 2011 legislative session. With a year and a half to go before the end of the 2018 election cycle, Abbott is just $6.3M short of the total Rick Perry raised from 2007 to 2010, his last re-election race, and just $15.3M short of the total Abbott raised from 2011 to 2014, his first race for governor.
Every current non-judicial statewide official on the 2018 ballot has more money on hand today than the corresponding official did in 2010, except for Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who has to be compared to Abbott. Paxton has $5.3M on hand as of June 30, which was $4M less than Abbott’s corresponding 2010 total. Paxton raised just over $1M during the last 12 days of June.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) reported having $16.3M on hand, the highest figure ever reported for a Texas Lt. Governor, breaking his own record set in January ($13.7M). He reported raising just under $4M, giving him a total of $34.9M in contributions since the end of the 2011 legislative session.
Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) reported having $4.6M on hand, a figure larger than former Comptroller Susan Combs’s $3.8M in 2010, but still below her all-time high war chest of $7.3M, set in January 2013. Land Comm. George P. Bush (R) reported having $2.8M on hand, which is roughly the same figure he’s had in nearly every campaign finance report filed since 2013. Railroad Comm. Chair Christi Craddick (R) reported having just over $2M on hand, the highest figure she has ever reported.
Agriculture Comm. Sid Miller (R) reported having $514K on hand, the highest figure he has ever reported having on hand. Austin attorney and lobbyist Trey Blocker (R) reported having $750K on hand, all from a loan of the same amount, for a campaign if Miller takes a position within the Trump Administration.
Collectively, the seven non-judicial statewide candidates on the 2018 ballot raised $16.1M during the last 12 days of June, well more than double the total raised by the corresponding officials eight years ago and this cadre of candidates four years ago (substituting Ryan Sitton for Craddick).
Among the statewide judicial candidates on the 2018 ballot, Justice Don Willett (R) leads the field with $845K on hand after raising $531K. Both figures are more than the other four statewide judicial incumbents believed to be seeking re-election combined.
©2017 Texas Election Source LLC
