Governor Posts $54 Million Haul in 18 Months
as Dems Raise Sums for Hottest House Fights
Capitol Inside
July 17, 2024
November 5 General Election
Fundraising Jan. 1-June 30, 2024
Total Including Loans & Cash June 30
|
| 1 |
HD 108 |
Morgan Meyer (R-Inc)
$1,113,237
$1,543,253
$164,513
|
| 2 |
HD 121 |
Marc LaHood (R)
$1,047,564
$1,157,865
$52,180
|
| 3 |
HD 112 |
Angie Button (R-Inc)
$453,616
$712,071
$738,530
|
| 4 |
HD 138 |
Lacey Hull (R-Inc)
$556,922
$676,802
$174,497
|
| 5 |
HD 80 |
Don McLaughlin (R)
$319,610
$599,829
$32,042
|
| 6 |
HD 37 |
Jonathan Gracia (D)
$129,375
$403,320
$95,486
|
| 7 |
HD 118 |
Kristian Carranza (D)
$327,933
$391,958
$191,088
|
| 8 |
HD 70 |
Mihaela Plesa (D-Inc)
$215,971
$314,545
$169,508
|
| 9 |
HD 108 |
Elizabeth Ginsberg (D)
$156,132
$286,605
$95,985
|
| 10 |
HD 112 |
Averie Bishop (D)
$191,470
$316,366
$106,141
|
| 11 |
HD 37 |
Janie Lopez (R-Inc)
$142,402
$271,124
$103,032
|
| 12 |
HD 80 |
Cecilia Castellano (D)
$196,644
$247,994
$41,180
|
| 13 |
HD 118 |
John Lujan (R-Inc)
$70,087
$209,790
$13,068
|
| 14 |
HD 74 |
Robert Garza (R)
$171,276
$171,276
$758
|
| 15 |
HD 121 |
Laurel Swift (D)
$115,277
$140,263
$35,486
|
| 16 |
HD 74 |
Eddie Morales (D-Inc)
$59,764
$117,564
$196,451
|
| 17 |
HD 52 |
Caroline Harris (R-Inc)
$50,006
$102,827
$70,302
|
| 18 |
HD 52 |
Jennie Birkholz (D)
$42,202
$57,072
$26,224
|
| 19 |
HD 70 |
Steve Kinard (R)
$36,358
$53,107
$17,195
|
| 20 |
HD 138 |
Stephanie Morales (D)
$0
$0
$0
|
| |
|
|
|
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Less than 10 Texas House races have the potential to be competitive this fall based on fundraising up to now for the 2024 election cycle that's been a cash cow for the state's top two leaders who aren't even on the ballot in November.
Governor Greg Abbott has raised an astonishing sum of campaign cash for an apparent re-election bid two years from now. The third-term governor has reported contributions of almost $54 million in the past 18 months. Abbott rounded up nearly $25 million in the first six months of 2024, a mind-bending amount at a time when he had high hopes of a nod from Donald Trump for the vice-president slot on the GOP ticket in the general election.
Trump teased Abbott as a potential running mate before selecting U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio as the candidate who'd been a significant favorite in Las Vegas before he took the call on Monday night at the Republican National Convention.
Abbott received donations of $13 million in the second half of 2023 - a record crushing sum considering that he won't be up for election again until 2026 if he runs again as widely expected. The Republican seized on speculation on the possibility of a VP appointment with the stunning sum he reported for the six-month period that ended on June 30.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who would have taken over Abbott's job if the Texan got a promotion to VP, raised almost $12 million since the start of 2023. There's been growing conjecture in the east wing of the Texas Capitol that Patrick's current term could be his last.
But Patrick didn't let questions on his future hamper his fundraising efforts with contributions of nearly $4.7 million in the past six months. Patrick raised less than $2.7 million in the same period before the general election in 2020. Patrick topped a record haul with a $3 million loan from a pair of wealthy megadonors who opposed Paxton's impeachment in a move that gave the appearance that they were trying to buy him off before Attorney General Ken Paxton impeachment trial in the state Senate later that year.
Paxton, who entered 2024 with substantial momentum from his acquittal last fall, recorded contributions just shy of $806,000 in the first half of the year. Paxton raised $2.2 million in the final six months of 2023 after his impeachment in the Texas House that spring.
The considerably smaller haul in the period that ended June 30 could have been due in part to a focus on House races in a bid for revenge against Republicans who voted to impeach. But Paxton has declared the GOP establishment to be an enemy - and that could be showing up on his campaign finance reports. Abbott and Patrick - in contrast - have tried to play both sides in a bitter GOP civil war in the Lone Star State to keep all channels of funding open to them. .
The largess for Abbott and Patrick appeared to come at some expense to Republican candidates in the most competitive contests for the Texas House in the November 5 general election.
Only eight House battles appear at this point to have the potential to be close in light of the relatively modest numbers that candidates on both sides of the aisle have posted. The five hottest House races on paper at this point are listed below in order of the odds for partisan turnovers in the fall.
1. House District 118. GOP State Rep. John Lujan of San Antonio could be concerned about being written off by fellow Republicans in the face of opposition from Democrat Kristian Carranza in a district that Beto O'Rourke carried in 2022 in a losing fight with Abbott. Carranza rounded up almost $328,000 in the past six months while Lujan barely reached the $70,000 mark. The Democratic challenger raised $392,000 for the HD 118 contest in the current cycle compared to $210,000 that the incumbent Lujan has raised for his re-election.
2. House District 112. GOP State Rep. Angie Chen Button of Garland has raised more than twice as much as Democratic challenger Averie Bishop for a re-election race in 2024. A 15-year House veteran, Button has a massive cash advantage with 7 times more in the campaign bank than Bishop had on June 30. But Bishop took in more than $191,000 in the first six months of the year when she was running unopposed in the primary election in March. As a former Miss Texas who's Button's toughest test on paper in one of the last true swing districts on the House battlefield, Bishop will have a sufficient amount to be competitive even if she can't match the incumbent dollar for dollar. Abbott carried HD 112 by 1 percentage point in 2022. Bishop could be a narrow favorite in a presidential election year.
3. House District 80. Republican Don McLaughlin has a sizeable funding advantage over Democrat Cecilia Castellano in an attempt to flip HD 80 to the GOP. McLaughlin claimed an easy victory in the March primary while Castellano was forced into overtime in a race for a seat that Democratic State Rep. Tracy King of Uvalde is giving up without a re-election bid. McLaughlin could be a slight favorite in a district that's voted increasingly Republican at the top of the ticket since Trump's emergence as the king of the GOP. But Castellano raised almost a quarter-million for the open race in the past six months - and she ended June with a lead in cash on hand in a district where money is harder to come by than in most.
4. House District 37. Rookie Republican State Rep. Janie Lopez of San Benito has raised slightly more supporters than Democratic challenger Jonathan Gracia in a fight for a seat that the incumbent wrestled from the minority party two years ago in a district that GOP leaders and lawmakers redesigned to go their way. Both of the candidates in HD 37 have been on fairly equal financial footing. But Gracia has taken the overall lead in the dollar chase thanks to a substantial loan to his campaign. HD 37 has toss-up potential.
5. House District 121. Republican Marc LaHood surpassed the million dollars mark in the money chase before unseating State Rep. Steve Allison of San Antonio in the primary election. Democrat Laurel Swift has no opponent in the first round in contrast. But LaHood spent most of what he had before heading into July with a mere $52,000 in cash on hand compared to $35,000 for Swift. Despite a giant lead in overall fundraising for LaHood, the candidates in HD 121 are in fairly equal positions heading into the fall.
GOP State Reps. Morgan Meyer of Dallas
and Caroline Harris Davila of Round Rock are facing Democrats Elizabeth Ginsberg and Jennie Birkholz respectively in races where the incumbents have the inside track. Democratic State Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass appears to still be a slight favorite in another potential swing district where he actually trails GOP challenger John Garza of Del Rio in the funding department.
more to come ...
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