Runoff Candidates Raise More Than $17M for Final Push
Jeff Blaylock
State candidates facing runoffs were required to file their runoff campaign finance reports yesterday (Monday). These reports disclose contributions received and expenditures made between February 10 and May 14. Most reports were available online today (Tuesday), and we highlight significant reports below.
Statewide
LTGOV (Lean R): Mike Collier (D) out-raised Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton), $488K to $12K, and outspent her, $507K to $18K.
AG (Lean R): Land Comm. George P. Bush (R) raised $2.3M, spent $2.8M and has $731K on hand. The report from Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton (R) was not available online. He had $4.7M on hand as of February 19.
Bush’s largest contributors for the period included Dallas energy executive Kelcy Warren ($200K), Copperas Cove executive Jeffery Hilderbrand ($100K), Palm Beach (Fla.) executive Douglas Devos and family members ($80K collectively), Moultrie (Ga.) executive Drayton McLane ($60K), San Antonio investor Jamal Daniel ($50K), Georgetown executive Ray Hunt ($50K), Lewisville executive Ira Mitzner ($50K), Q PAC ($50K), Houston investor Bradley Cross ($40K) and Grand Rapids (Mich.) engineer Greg Bird ($33K).
On the Democratic side, Joe Jaworski narrowly out-raised Rochelle Garza, $373K to $334K, and even more narrowly outspent her, $370K to $366K. He holds a $73K to $37K edge in cash on hand.
LAND open (Likely R): Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) raised $797K and spent just over $1.0M, both many orders of magnitude over her opponent. On the Democratic side, Jay Kleberg similarly dwarfed his opponent, raising $522K and spending $415K.
RRC (Likely R): Comm. Wayne Christian (R) raised $528K, spent $662K and has $341K on hand. Nearly all of challenger Sarah Stogner’s (R) $2M in contributions came in kind from Houston rancher Ashley Wyatt. She reported no expenditures or cash on hand.
Senate
SD24 open (Likely R): Former Sen. Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton) out-raised Raul Reyes Jr. (R), $500K to $216K, and outspent him, $609K to $238K.
SD27 open (Lean D): Morgan LaMantia (D) out-raised Sara Stapleton-Barrera (D), $265K to $126K, and outspent her, $1.8M to $123K. LaMantia added another $1.3M to her loan balance, bringing it to $2.9M.
House
HD12 (Safe R): Rep. Kyle Kacal (R-College Station) out-raised Ben Bius (R), $463K to $182K, and outspent him, $421K to $276K. Kacal’s largest contributors included Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND ($64K), Texas House Republican Caucus ($35K), Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($33K), Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($25K), Texas Trial Lawyers Assoc. PAC ($25K), Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($24K) and Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($20K).
Bius’s largest contributors were Conservative Action for Texas PAC ($24K), Rep. Mayes Middleton ($20K), Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($14K), The Woodlands executive Anthony George ($10K), Huntsville retirees Charles and Jeanine Tompkins ($10K combined) and College Station executive Ken Watford ($10K).
HD17 open (Safe R): Stan Gerdes (R) out-raised Paul Pape (R), $213K to $32K, and outspent him, $245K to $138K. Gerdes’s largest contributors included Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($50K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($10K), Energy Transfer Partners Texas PAC ($9K) and Austin lobbyist Ron Lewis ($7.5K). Pape’s largest contributor was Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND ($26K).
HD19 open (Safe R): Ellen Troxclair (R) out-raised Justin Berry, $265K to $165K, and outspent him, $465K to $153K. She holds a $172K to $46K advantage in cash on hand. Troxclair’s largest contributors included Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($60K) and its CEO Richard Weekley ($25K), Austin software executive Joe Liemandt ($52K), Austin energy executive Bryan Sheffield ($25K), Austin homebuilder David Dalgleish ($10K) and Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($10K).
Berry’s largest contributors were Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($43K), Austin Police Assoc. PAC ($25K) and Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($25K).
HD23 open (Likely R): Terri Leo-Wilson (R) out-raised Patrick Gurski (R), $585K to $295K, solely because of support from Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, which supplied nearly 94% of her contribution total. Gurski narrowly outspent her, $99K to $82K, but much of TLR’s support essentially has the effect of campaign spending.
Gurski’s largest contributors were Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($131K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($25), Galveston County for Conservative Values PAC ($17K), Galveston Co. Comm. Darrell Apffel’s campaign ($13K) and Galveston Co. Comm. Joe Giusti’s campaign ($13K). Wilson-Leo’s largest contributors were Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($548K), Texas Right to Life PAC ($10K) and Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($7K).
HD37 open (Lean D): Luis Villarreal Jr. (D) narrowly out-raised Ruben Cortez (D), $55K to $53K, and outspent him, $112K to $45K.
HD52 open (Lean R): Pat McGuinness (R), who has largely self-funded his campaign, raised $13K and spent $233K. Caroline Harris’s (R) report was not yet available.
HD60 (Safe R): Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) raised $751K and spent $523K. Mike Olcott’s (R) report was not yet available. Roger’s largest contributors included Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($250K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($62K), Texas House Republican Caucus PAC ($35K), Aledo realtor Jimmy Martin ($35K), Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($25K), Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND ($25K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($20K), Veterinarian PAC ($20K), Texas Alliance for Life PAC ($16K) and Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($15K).
HD61 open (Likely R): Frederick Frazier (R) out-raised Paul Chabot (R), $275K to $31K, and outspent him, $208K to $88K. Frazier’s largest contributors included Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($50K), Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($36K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($15K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($12.5K) and Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($10K).
HD63 open (Likely R): Ben Bumgarner (R) narrowly out-raised Jeff Younger (R), $268K to $240K, and outspent him, $248K to $79K. Bumgarner’s largest contributors included Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($80K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($66K), Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($63K) and Texas Sands PAC ($10K). Younger’s largest contributors were Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($147K), Conservative Action for Texas PAC ($53K), former Sen. Don Huffines ($10K) and Texas Right to Life PAC ($10K).
HD70 open (Toss Up): Jamee Jolly (R) out-raised the largely self-funded Eric Bowlin (R), $273K to $18K, but was outspent, $152K to $96K. On the Democratic side, Cassandra Garcia Hernandez out-raised Miheala Plesa, $118K to $29K, and outspent her, $114K to $67K.
HD73 open (Safe R): Barron Casteel (R) out-raised Carrie Isaac, $422K to $310K, and outspent her, $367K to $256K. Casteel’s largest contributors included Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($100K), Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($25K), Charles Butt Public Education PAC ($25K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($25K), New Braunfels oil and gas executive Josh Price ($20K), New Braunfels executive John Weisman ($20K) and Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($17K).
Isaac’s largest contributors were Rep. Mayes Middleton ($100K), Conservatives for Law Enforcement & Border Security PAC ($65K), Canyon Lake retiree Debbie Asbury ($36K), Dripping Springs retiree Robert Seale ($20K), Midland oil and gas executives Don and Jeff Sparks ($20K combined) and College Station conservative activist Kathaleen Wall ($15K).
HD76 open (Likely D): Suleman Lalani (D) out-raised Vanesia Johnson, $91K to $3K, and outspent her, $103K to $3K.
HD84 open (Likely R): Carl Tepper out-raised David Glasheen, $295K to $11K, but the largely self-funded Glasheen vastly outspent Tepper, $924K to $67K. Glasheen loaned himself another $950K, bringing his outstanding loan principal to $1.65M. Tepper’s largest contributors were Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($237K) and Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($13K).
HD85 (Safe R): Rep. Phil Stephenson (R-Wharton) raised just $54K – a fraction of the amounts raised by the three other incumbents facing runoffs – and spent $64K. Challenger Stan Kitzman (R) raised $52K and spent $46K.
Stephenson’s largest contributor was Texas House Republican Caucus PAC ($35K). Kitzman’s largest contributors were Houston energy executive Jeffery Hildebrand ($10K), Houston developer Steven Alvis ($5K) and Bellville executive Charles Scianna Jr. ($5K).
Stephenson received, by far, the least amount of support from House leadership and heavy-hitting Republican PACS of any incumbent and was well behind many open-seat candidates. He received no contributions from House colleagues during the period. By contrast, Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) received $180K from her colleagues not named Phelan and $235K from the Speaker’s campaign account. Rep. Kyle Kacal (R-College Station) received $31K from members not named Phelan and $33K from his campaign. Rep. Glenn Rogers (R-Graford) received $20K from members not named Phelan and $250K from the Speaker.
HD91 (Likely R): Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) out-raised challenger David Lowe, $955K to $263K, and outspent him, $472K to $53K. She holds a $128K to $6K advantage in cash on hand.
Klick’s largest contributors for the period included Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($235K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($200K), Texas Alliance for Life PAC ($37K), Rep. Greg Bonnen’s campaign ($35K), Rep. Dustin Burrow’s campaign ($35K), Texas House Republican Caucus PAC ($35K), Protect and Serve Texas PAC ($29K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($25K), Texas Nurse Practitioners PAC ($25K), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($20K) and Rep. Gary Gates’s campaign ($15K). Klick received $180K from her colleagues’ campaign funds not including Phelan’s campaign, which added $235K to that total.
Lowe’s largest contributors were Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($165K) and Conservative Action for Texas PAC ($53K). Combined they accounted for 83% of Lowe’s contribution total.
HD93 (Likely R): Laura Hill (R) out-raised Nate Schatzline (R), $404K to $312K, and outspent him, $220K to $124K. Hill’s largest contributors were Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($173K), Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($68K), Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($37K), Argyle retirees Wallace and Margaret Downey ($35K combined), Texas Assoc. of Realtors TREPAC ($25K) and Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($10K).
Schatzline’s largest contributors were Defend Texas Liberty PAC ($165K), Conservative Action for Texas PAC ($32K), Schatzline family members ($25K combined), Rep. Mayes Middleton ($10K), Haslet franchise owner Thomas Hardeman ($10K) and Texas Right to Life PAC ($10K).
HD100 open (Safe D): Venton Jones raised $110K and spent $101K. The report from Sandra Crenshaw (D) was not yet available. Through the primary, she raised $5K and spent less than that.
HD114 open (Safe D): Alexandra Guio (D) out-raised former Rep. John Bryant (D-Dallas), $55K to $33K, but was narrowly outspent, $54K to $46K. Over the election cycle, Guio and Bryant have each raised $124K.
HD122 open (Likely R): Elisa Chan (R) out-raised Mark Dorazio (R), $168K to $110K, and outspent him, $564K to $300K. Chan’s largest contributors for the period were Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($25K), Speaker Dade Phelan’s campaign ($50K), Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($20K), Texans for Responsible Government PAC ($10K). Chan also loaned her campaign an additional $400K, bringing her total outstanding loan balance to $1.6M.
Dorazio’s largest contributors were Boerne retiree Robert Bruce ($12K), Rep. Mayes Middleton ($10K) and Defend Texas Libety PAC ($8.5K). Dorazio loaned his campaign another $200K, bringing his outstanding loan principal to $500K.
HD133 open (Likely R): Mano DeAyala (R) out-raised Shelly Barineau (R), $464K to $292K, and outspent her, $480K to $277K. DeAyala’s largest contributors were Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($150K), Associated Republicans of Texas PAC ($42K), Houston retiree David Light III ($25K), Houston executive Alan Hassenflu ($15K), Houston homebuilder Michael Moody ($15K) and Houston homebuilder Richard Weekley ($15K).
Barineau’s largest contributors were Houston retiree Pamela Barineau ($50K), Kenney retiree Dianne Holmes ($40K) Houston nonprofit executive Melinda Hilderbrand ($10K), Houston realtor Allen Crosswell ($10K), Houston retiree Amy Huggins ($10K) and Rep. Mayes Middleton ($10K).