We asked in Friday's Blast whether the top Democratic congressional candidates in Texas would raise enough money for the long haul — and three more of them issued resounding responses today, revealing seven-figure totals for the second quarter. There are now four Democrats running for GOP-held seats in Texas who've announced raking in over $1 million over the last three months, a stunning achievement that shows they're more than ready for the fall battle.
Let's take a look at the four candidates and some key points of comparison. (None of the Republican incumbents have volunteered their second-quarter figures yet, so we're offering their first-quarter numbers.)
- TX-7: Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, Democratic nominee for the 7th Congressional District (U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston)
- Second-quarter haul: over $1 million
- Cash on hand after second quarter: nearly $800,000
- 2016 Democratic nominee's second-quarter haul: $3,863.41 (James Cargas)
- Culberson's first-quarter haul: $549,078.20
- Culberson's cash on hand after first quarter: $920,705.67
- TX-23: Gina Ortiz Jones, Democratic nominee for the 23rd Congressional District (U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes)
- Second-quarter haul: more than $1.2 million
- Cash on hand after second quarter: "about" $1.1 million
- 2016 Democratic nominee's second-quarter haul: $327,453.68 (Pete Gallego)
- Hurd's first-quarter haul: $620,779.88
- Hurd's cash on hand after first quarter: $1,563,742.85
- TX-31: MJ Hegar, Democratic nominee for the 31st Congressional District (U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock)
- Second quarter haul: $1.1 million
- Cash on hand after second quarter: not released
- 2016 Democratic nominee's second-quarter haul: $3,538.21 (Mike Clark)
- Carter's first-quarter haul: $174,310.26
- Carter's cash on hand after first quarter: $350,937.30
- TX-32: Colin Allred, Democratic nominee for the 32nd Congressional District (U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas)
- Second-quarter haul: nearly $1.1 million
- Cash on hand after second quarter: over $900,000
- 2016 Democratic nominee's second-quarter haul: Sessions faced no Democratic opposition in 2016.
- Sessions' first-quarter haul: $606,587.36
- Sessions' cash on hand after first quarter: $1,510,210.41
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WHITE'S 11TH-HOUR SPENDING REVEALED
It was one of the biggest mysteries in the closing days of the Democratic gubernatorial runoff: How much was Andrew White actually spending?
Not that much, it turns out — at least relative to the nearly $1 million he had in the bank eight days out. That's according to a recent filing with the Texas Ethics Commission that shows White dropped about $108,000 on mail and $58,000 on TV in the final week. Then, after losing the runoff to Lupe Valdez, he repaid himself $760,000 on a $1 million loan he had given his campaign earlier in the race.
The spending appears short of the "hundreds of thousands of dollars" that his team had claimed it was unloading in the last week of the race, when it faced questions about whether it was sitting on cash. Interestingly, White's campaign reported making the TV buy on May 16, around the same time the Dallas Morning News published a widely read column questioning whether White "would use, if at all, the money he loaned his campaign."
White, the son of late Gov. Mark White, ended up doing better than expected against Valdez, finishing 6 percentage points behind the former Dallas County sheriff. She now faces Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
(h/t to the Houston Chronicle for drawing attention to the White campaign's final TEC filing in a story today. The filing was quietly made June 28.)
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GOHMERT DEFENDS JORDAN AGAINST CLAIMS HE IGNORED SEXUAL ABUSE AT OHIO STATE
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, leapt today to the defense of embattled Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is facing mounting allegations that he knew about rampant sexual abuse of Ohio State wrestlers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Jordan was an assistant coach in the program at the time, and former wrestlers have charged in recent days that Jordan was aware that a team doctor abused the athletes. Ohio State is currently investigating the claims, which Jordan has denied, suggesting they are intended to take him down as a potential speaker candidate and a vocal opponent of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election
Gohmert issued a lengthy statement Monday defending his colleague and seeking to discredit the former wrestlers.
"Jim Jordan is a fine and decent person who has a lifetime history of being honorable and honest, unlike his accusers whose extremely troubled backgrounds and ongoing legal and financial troubles place the veracity of their allegations into the realm of ridiculous,” the statement reads.
Calling Jordan a “beloved conservative,” Gohmert alleged that the accusers are running a smear campaign intended to benefit Democrats.
— Claire Parker
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POLLING CATNIP
Gravis Marketing today released a new poll of likely voters in Texas. Here are the ballot tests:
- Gov. Greg Abbott leads his Democratic opponent, Lupe Valdez, by 10 percentage points, 51 percent to 41 percent. Eight percent are uncertain.
- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has a 9-point advantage over Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke, 51 percent to 42 percent. Seven percent aren't sure.
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is only 2 points ahead of the Democratic nominee, Mike Collier — 46 percent to 44 percent, with 10 percent uncertain.
- Attorney General Ken Paxton has a 4-point lead against Democratic rival Justin Nelson. Fourteen percent are unsure.
The survey, which was first reported by Breitbart, was conducted from Tuesday through Saturday using an online panel of cell phone users and interactive voice responses. It included 602 likely voters, and its margin of error was plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.
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REVOLUTION REVERSED
Three Democratic statewide candidates in Texas — two current and one former — have parted ways in recent months with the progressive digital firm Revolution Messaging, according to a new BuzzFeed story on turmoil at the company. The three candidates are Beto O’Rourke, who’s running for U.S. Senate; Justin Nelson, who’s running for attorney general; and Andrew White, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. Of those three, the most notable by far is O’Rourke, whose campaign has paid close to $3 million to the firm. "Before this month, the firm’s largest remaining client, according to former staffers on the campaigns team, was” O’Rourke, the story says. "Last Friday, he left Revolution Messaging for a competing firm."
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SD-19 WATCH
State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, is targeting ex-U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, over his liberal credentials in the special election for Senate District 19. In a news release this morning, Gutierrez's campaign drew attention to a fresh comparison of the two candidates' overlapping time in the Texas House, arguing it shows Gutierrez is the "only progressive running" in the July 30 contest. The comparison, done by Rice University Prof. Mark Jones, showed Gutierrez as the fourth most liberal House Democrat who served during the 2009 and 2011 sessions, with Gallego closer to the ideological center of the caucus. "Republicans have enough votes in the Senate," Gutierrez said in a statement. Gutierrez and Gallego are two of eight candidates in the special election to replace ex-state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio.
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PELOSI ON TX-7
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., isn't sweating her party's controversial intervention earlier this year in the primary to take on U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, according to a new interview. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee caused an uproar ahead of the March nominating contest when it came out against candidate Laura Moser — who nonetheless made the May runoff, where she lost to rival Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. In the interview, which was published Sunday by Rolling Stone, Pelosi shrugged off the intra-party fracas, saying the DCCC "chairman made a decision to weigh in in Texas, and people got all upset because the Bernie people got upset." She went to echo the DCCC's suggestion that Moser was too liberal for Culberon's 7th District, noting noting that the "districts we have to win are pretty moderate-to-conservative districts."
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TX-32 WATCH
Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor who's considering a 2020 presidential bid, is hitting the campaign trail this weekend for Colin Allred, the Democratic nominee for Texas' 32nd Congressional District. Patrick will visit Richardson on Sunday to help launch a canvass for Allred, according to an event listing. Allred is challenging U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.
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Jerry Strickland, who most recently helmed the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations for Gov. Greg Abbott, is joining BGR Government Affairs. Strickland, who starts Wednesday, will lead a new office in Austin for the the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm. Strickland will "strengthen the firm's advocacy on behalf of clients before the Texas congressional delegation as well as state agencies," per a BGR news release. Strickland, a longtime Abbott adviser, left the Office of State-Federal Relations last month after serving as its executive director since Abbott became governor in 2015.
U.S. Rep.-elect Michael Cloud, R-Victoria, announced today that Jeff Johanson will lead his transition team. Johanson most recently served as the president and CEO of C.L. Thomas, a Victoria-based company that owns and operates gas station stores. Cloud is set to be sworn in Tuesday after winning the June 30 special election to fill the seat of former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi.
Gov. Greg Abbott this afternoon appointed Rossy Fariña-Strauss of Austin to the State Pension Review Board. Fariña-Strauss, a retired architecture project manager, has a term set to expire Jan. 31, 2023.
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"It's in the bag. ... Ted's going to win."
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— Toby Neugebauer, a financier and megadonor to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on enthusiasm for U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the El Paso Democrat challenging Cruz [Politico]
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4:30 P.M. TUESDAY
Lupe Valdez, the Democratic nominee for governor, tours Carpenters Local Union 551 in Pasadena.
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Thanks to Cassi Pollock and Claire Parker for contributing to today’s Blast. Do you have items for The Blast? New job? A promotion? Tell us all about it. Send tips to psvitek@texastribune.org.
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