Texas House Fundraising Leaderboard Has
27 Republicans and Lone Dem in $250K Club

Texas House & Senate Races to Watch - House Incumbents vs Challengers

Capitol Inside
January 23, 2026

1 Marc LaHood (R-Inc) $1,431,751 2 Kat Wall (R) $917,568 3 Armin Mizani (R) $851,174 4 Mike Olcott (R-Inc) $673,774 5 David McArthur (R) $596,943 6 Chris Turner (D-Inc) $556,109 7 Jeff Leach (R-Inc) $545,163 8 Jerry Patterson (R-Inc) $502,778 9 Fred Tate (R) $490,104 10 Angelia Orr (R-Inc) $474,277 11 Ray Callas (R) $461,885 12 Angie Button (R-Inc) $461,126 13 Nathan Watkins (R) $444,622 14 Jay Hardaway (R) $426,377 15 Ken King (R-Inc) $409,493 16 Stan Kitzman (R-Inc) $406,393 17 Will Metcalf (R-Inc) $390,920 18 Morgan Meyer (R-Inc) $375,965 19 Desi Martinez (R) $374,740 20 Cody Harris (R-Inc) $373,387 21 Josh Bray (R) $316,655 22 Stan Gerdes (R-Inc) $314,627 23 Pat Curry (R-Inc) $303,300 24 Goose Geesaman (R) $286,680 25 Chris Spencer (R) $278,264 26 Tom Butler (R) $267,963 27 Andy Hopper (R-Inc) $267,442 28 Rocky Thigpen (R) $253,184 29 Brian Harrison (R-Inc) $248,892 30 Jamie Haynes (R) $198,123 31 Pooja Sethi (D) $186,066 32 Jose Reyna (D) $183,019 33 Seby Haddad (D) $174,296 34 Cole Hefner (R-Inc) $173,696 35 Holly Jeffreys (R) $171,982 36 Cheryl Bean (R) $171,876 37 Lacey Hull (R-Inc) $144,947 38 Alan Blaylock (R) $142,420 39 Bob Mitchell (R) $141,832 40 Montserrat Garibay (D) $140,678 41 Brad Bailey (R) $119,254 42 Jackie Schlegel (R) $106,475 43 Kathy Tovo (D) $102,660

Four dozen candidates raised $250,000 or more last year for Texas House races in districts where they're running in open contests or squaring off opponents in the primary election on March 3.

The Quarter-Million Dollar Club for 2025 features 27 Republicans who are competing for House seats and a lone Democrat who's an incumbent with a war chest that contained nearly $700,000 at the end of December. Fourteen incumbent representatives for the GOP made the cut along with 13 Republicans who are competing for spots in the 2027 freshmen class in the Legislature's lower chamber this year.

Veteran State Rep. Chris Turner of Arlington ranks 6th on the list as the only Democrats who made the cut after rounding up $556,000 in 2025 with the lion's share in the past seven months. GOP State Rep. Marc LaHood of San Antonio crowned the leaderboard for fundraising for the House last year with an epic haul of $1.4 million and trial lawyers accounting for the lion's share. But the GOP's David McArthur raised almost $600,000 last year for a bid aimed at ousting LaHood with the 5th largest fundraising total in the competition for seats in the west wing in Austin in the 2026 election cycle's first half.

McArthur, whose campaign has been bankrolled by the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, was one of 13 Republicans who rounded up $250K or more in 2025 for primary fights with incumbents or House races that are open this year. Kat Wall ranked second behind LaHood after amassing a war chest just south of seven figures with $900,000 in loans for a bid for the House District 13 seat that second-term Republican State Rep. Angelia Orr is seeking again in 2026. Orr ranked 10th in the House money chase with contributions of more than $474,000 last year.

Two of the most prolific fundraisers for open House races - Keller Mayor Armin Mizani and Fred Tate of Colleyville - are doing battle against each other for the House District 98 seat in the most expensive open contest on the lower chamber battlefield so far in 2026. Mizani ranks third on the overall fundraising list for Texas House races after posting the highest total by far in the competition for upcoming openings with more than $650,000 from contributors in 2025 on top of a $200,000 campaign loan. Tate - a member of the Trinity River Authority board - ranked 10th overall after raising $490,000 in 2025 when $30,000 worth of loans are figured in the mix. A runoff in HD 98 is a possibility with a third GOP candidate who did not raise a sufficient amount of money to be competitive.

Rookie Republican State Rep. Mike Olcott of Aledo raised the second highest sum of campaign cash for an incumbent with donations of nearly $674,000 last year. Olcott's only primary foe Amy Fennell reported $16,000 from contributors to go with a loan of $25,000 for her bid in House District 60.

The House leaderboard for fundraising in 2025 included two more incumbents in the top 10 with powerful GOP State Reps. Jeff Leach of Allen and Jared Patterson of Frisco reporting hauls that surpassed a half-million dollars each. The list of incumbents who raised $250,000 or more last year for re-election races that attracted first-round opposition also contained Republican State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, Ken King of Canadian, Stan Kitzman of Pattison, Will Metcalf of Conroe, Morgan Meyer of Dallas, Cody Harris of Palestine, Stan Gerdes of Smithville, Pat Curry of Waco and Andy Hopper of Decatur.

The 250K club inductees who are not currently House members also features Ray Callas of Beaumont, Nathan Watkins of Baytown, Jay Hardaway of Abilene, Desi Martinez of San Antonio, Josh Bray of Paris, Dennis "Goose" Geesaman of Flatonia, Chris Spencer of Texarkana, Tom Butler of Deer Park and Rocky Thigpen of Lufkin.

Callas is the only Republican in the running to replace former Speaker Dade Phelan in House District 21. Bray and Spencer are dueling for the House District 1 seat that GOP State Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston isn't seeking again in 2026. Watkins is taking aim at GOP State Rep. Terri Leo Wilson of Galveston in House District 23 while Geesaman has his sights set on Kitzman in a fight for House District 85.

When the floor for 2025 fundraising is lowered to $100,000, the names of Democrats finally began to pop up. While Turner the former Democratic caucus chairman was the only minority party member ranked among the top four dozen fundraisers in House race, five Democrats were among 14 candidates who raised between $100,000 and $200,000 in 2025 for bids this year.

A total of 43 House contenders reported fundraising hauls of $100,000 or more in 2025.

more to come ...