Massive Gap in Texas House Race Funds
Could Be Offset by O'Rourke as Equalizer

Capitol Inside
August 2, 2022

1 Mano DeAyala (R) $1,007,686 2 Frederick Frazier(R) $798,405 3 Ben Bumgarner(R) $786,770 4 Mark Dorazio (R) $718,198 5 Matt Shaheen (R-Inc) $693,590 6 Morgan Meyer (R-Inc) $661,707 7 Jamee Jolly (R) $644,221 8 John Lujan (R-Inc) $637,302 9 Caroline Harris (R) $528,829 10 Steve Allison (R-Inc) $475,585

Less than a dozen Texas House fights have the potential to be competitive to some degree this fall if money up to now is a telling gauge on a battlefield where the GOP nominees in the 20 hottest contests raised almost five times more combined than Democratic opponents during that span of time.

The Republicans in the Capitol Inside state House races to watch in 2022 raised $9.3 million combined in the first half of half of the year compared to $1.9 million that Democratic opponents rounded up from contributors in the same period. The disparity widens considerably when funds that were generated in 2021 from supporters or the candidates themselves are factored in the equation.

Democrats faced significant fundraising disadvantages on the House battlefield in 2018 when they rode a blue wave to victories in a dozen races that the GOP was defending. That success was a product of Beto O'Rourke's coattails in large part after a record-shattering fundraising effort in a race for the U.S. Senate at the top of the ticket that year. O'Rourke is topping the Democratic ticket again in a bid to oust Governor Greg Abbott in a tightening race that's rated as a toss up here.

The dueling donor dollar hauls are apples and oranges to a significant degree in light of the fact that the Republicans in 10 of the top 20 battles for the Legislature's lower chamber faced primary foes including a half-dozen who claimed nominations with runoff wins in May. But the Democrats in House races with swing potential can expect to have substantially less for the final months before the general election on November 8 based on historical trends in the Lone Star State.

The top 10 fundraisers in potentially competitive House districts heading into July include a half dozen white male Republicans, two GOP females and a pair of Hispanics who hail from the majority party in State Rep. John Lujan of San Antonio and Mano DeAyala of Houston. DeAyala, the GOP nominee in one of the state's wealthiest districts, is the only House candidate who'd surpassed the seven-digit mark in fundraising by the end of the last reporting period on June 30.

With DeAyala crowning the list, the four most successful fundraisers in House races heading into July includes Republicans Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Ben Bumgarner of Flower Mound and Mark Dorazio of San Antonio. All four faced primary runoff opposition before advancing to the general election in the overtime vote on May 24. GOP State Rep. Matt Shaheen of Plano is fifth on the House fundraising chart as a result of a $500,000 loan as well.

Republicans Jamee Jolly of Plano and Caroline Harris of Round Rock are ranked seventh and ninth respectively in fundraising for open House races that could swing either way this fall. The top 10 includes a pair of incumbents in re-election races in GOP State Reps. Morgan Meyer of Dallas and Steve Allison of San Antonio in the sixth and tenth spots.

Four Republican women surpassed the six-figure mark in fundraising for House races in districts that the GOP has hopes of flipping to various degrees. GOP nominee Janie Lopez of San Benito raised more than $228,000 en route to a primary victory in March in a bid for the House in an open contest that appears to be the GOP's top target on the lower chamber battlefield for the fall.

Republicans Katherine Parker of Alpine and Melisa Denis of Coppell both raked in more than $100,000 from contributors in campaigns aimed at ousting Democratic State Reps. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass and Julie Johnson of Dallas. GOP contender Carolyn Vaughn hopes to be competitive in a fight for the seat that Democratic State Rep. Abel Herrero of Corpus Christi is defending after boosting her bid with a loan of $120,000.

Johnson has rounded up more campaign cash than any of the Democrats in swing races for seats in the west wing on paper with more than $375,000 in contributions by the end of June. Herrero has raised more than $164,000 for his re-election race.

Democrats Luis Villarreal of Harlingen entered July after raising nearly $267,000 for an open race for the seat in the Rio Grande Valley that Lopez is seeking as well. Democrat Mihaela Plesa of Dallas raised almost $213,000 for an open race in a new House district where Jolly is the GOP nominee. Villarreal, Plesa and Jolly all faced opposition in the runoff this past spring.

more to come ...