Republicans Raise $11M in One Month
for the 10 Hottest Texas House Races

Capitol Inside
October 30, 2024

Republicans raised a mind-blowing $11 million for the 10 most competitive Texas House races in the past month alone in a record-smashing haul that's almost four times the sum that Democratic foes reported for the period that ended a week before Tuesday's general election.

All of a half-dozen representatives for the GOP reported contributions in the seven-digit range on reports they filed with the state on Monday for fights that Capitol Inside has ranked among the top 10 races to watch for the Legislature's lower chamber with a mere six days to go before the vote.

Three Republicans who are gunning for House seats that are blue now - Robert Garza of Del Rio, Don McLaughlin of Uvalde and Denise Villalobos of Corpus Christi - rounded up more than $500,000 apiece for contests that are rated here among the 10 hottest for the west wing in Austin in 2024. Their Democratic opponents - State Rep. Eddie Garza of Eagle Pass, Cecilia Castellano of Von Army and Solomon Ortiz Jr. of Corpus Christi respectively - added $363,000 combined to war chests for their own bids in districts that the minority party is attempting to defend.

Based on reports that were submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission for the period from September 27 to October 26, Democrats in the 10 hottest House battles raised less than $3.1 million collectively during that month compared to a stunning $10.9 million that GOP rivals brought in during the same time span.

San Antonio Democrat Kristian Carranza actually raised more in the monthlong reporting period than any of the Republican contenders in the top 10 House races with donations to her campaign in excess of $1.6 million. That accounted for more than half of the campaign cash that Democrats in the hottest House contests generated during the period.

When Carranza's contributions in the past month are subtracted from the equation, the Democrats reported one new dollar for every $6.71 that Republicans raised during the period in the races that are ranked second to 10th on the watch list here.

The Republican who Carranza is challenging - State Rep. John Lujan of San Antonio - had contributions of nearly $1.48 million during the month that expired late last week. Carranza is the only solid favorite for the Democrats in the Capitol Inside forecast for the top 10 House races in the fight that crowns the watch list.

Carranza has amassed a war chest with almost $2.4 million flowing through it during the election cycle that began at the start of 2023. Lujan has raised almost $2.1 million for a re-election race in a district that appears destined to go blue this fall.

Three-fourths of Carranza's haul came from the Leaders We Deserve PAC in Washington D.C. The anti-gun violence group pumped $1.205 million into the Democrat's campaign coffers in House District 118.

With a price tag pushing $4.5 million for the major party contenders, the Lujan-Carranza clash has been the most expensive House battle for the general election this year.

The bulk of money that the Republicans have raised for the top 10 House races in the past month came courtesy of the Associated Republicans of Texas, the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and Governor Greg Abbott. The amount that Abbott has spent on the hottest contests this fall is tantamount to drop that he poured into primary fights in targeted districts earlier this year. Lujan has relied heavily on TLR, ART and Abbott.

GOP State Rep. Janie Lopez of San Benito reported raising $1.57 million in the past month in the second-ranked House race in a district where Democratic challenger Jonathan Gracia of Harlingen had contributions of nearly $182,000 in the same amount of time.

Republican State Rep. Angie Chen Button of Garland raised more than $1.6 million during the period when Democratic foe Averie Bishop of Richardson scored more than $417,000. GOP State Rep. Morgan Meyer of Dallas reported donations during the period of $1.53 million in a swing district where Democrat Elizabeth Ginsberg pulled in nearly $133,000.

The races featuring Lopez, Button and Meyer are ranked second, third and fifth respectively.

Republican Marc LaHood and Democrat Laurel Swift rounded up $1.19 million and $278,000 respectively during the most recent reporting period for an open race in the San Antonio area.

McLaughlin added more than $546,000 to his campaign account in the past month for an open race in a border district where the Democrat Castellano took in less than $46,000 in that span of time. Capitol Inside has McLaughlin as the favorite for the first time in the countdown to the vote in a district that Democrats have controlled up to now.

Morales reported a quarter for every dollar that Garza raised during the same period with contributions topping $481,000 in the border district where the Republican challenger remains a slight underdog in the stretch before the election.

more to come ...