The campaign of Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton (R) has launched a Facebook ad campaign criticizing U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler), one of his three primary rivals, and touting the endorsement of former President Trump.

Gohmert’s relatively late entry into the race has placed him at a significant financial disadvantage to the other candidates. Gohmert raised $1M since launching his campaign and ended 2021 with $882K on hand. Paxton raised $2.8M and has $7.5M on hand. Land Comm. George P. Bush (R) raised $1.9M and has $3.2M on hand. Former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman (R) raised $3.7M and has $2M on hand.

Gohmert will likely draw more support from Paxton’s core voters than either Bush or Guzman, which is likely why the Paxton campaign is focused on him. Earlier this month, Paxton launched a TV ad campaign in East Texas and has since sent at least one mail piece criticizing Gohmert for missing votes in Congress.As of press time, an amended campaign finance report for Paxton was not available online. More than $2.1M in contributions received during the second half of 2021 remain unitemized, which means the donors responsible for around three quarters of Paxton’s contribution total remain undisclosed.

‍HD33 (Safe R): The Dallas Morning News endorsed Rep. Justin Holland (R-Heath) and Peter Haase (D) for their respective party’s nominations.

‍HD63 open (Likely R): Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco) endorsed Ben Bumgarner (R).

‍HD70 open (Toss Up): The Dallas Morning News endorsed Jamee Jolly (R) and Lorenzo Sanchez (D) for their respective party’s nominations.

‍HD122 open (Likely R): Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) endorsed Adam Blanchard (R) to succeed him.

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‍CD38 open (Safe R): The Wesley Hunt (R) campaign announced he raised more than $1M during the fourth quarter, and an internal poll shows him over 50% in the primary.

‍McAllen: The city council set a February 26 special runoff election to fill the unexpired term of Tania Ramirez, who is running for Hidalgo County Judge. Pablo Garcia (45%) faces Rudy Castillo (41%). Just over 500 people – around 5% of registered voters – cast ballots in Saturday’s special election.

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