Republicans outraise Democrats by 92% in Texas state legislative races

New campaign finance filings for Texas state legislative races show Republicans leading Democrats in fundraising. Between July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, Republican candidates outraised Democratic candidates by 92 percent.

Heading into the primary elections, 282 Republican candidates raised $22.04 million compared to $8.14 million raised by 197 Democrats.

In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent reporting period were:

• John Whitmire (State Senate, District 15) – $407,990
• Royce West (State Senate, District 23) – $399,744
• Frank Ramirez (House of Representatives, District 118) – $302,573
• Richard Raymond (House of Representatives, District 42) – $297,120
• Chris Turner (House of Representatives, District 101) – $259,796

In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent reporting period were:

• Mayes Middleton (State Senate, District 11) – $1,885,523
• Dade Phelan (House of Representatives, District 21) – $1,870,189
• Kevin Sparks (State Senate, District 31) – $905,772
• John Lujan (House of Representatives, District 118) – $683,537
• Phil King (State Senate, District 10) – $648,275 

The candidates who raised the most money were Mayes Middleton (R) in Senate District 11 ($1,885,523), incumbent Dade Phelan (R) in House District 21 ($1,870,189), and Kevin Sparks (R) in Senate District 31 ($905,772).

State legislative primary elections are held on March 1, 2022. In some cases, party nominees may have been chosen earlier.

Republicans have a 18-13 majority in the Texas State Senate and a 85-65 majority in the Texas State House.

Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how much and how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political parties may contribute to campaigns.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs. In 2022, Transparency USA will publish campaign finance data after the following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report Name = Report Due Date
2022 Jan Semiannual   =   1/18/2022
2022 PrePrimary (30 Days)   =   1/31/2022
2022 Pre-Primary (8 Days)   =   2/22/2022
2022 Primary Runoff   =   5/16/2022
2022 Jul Semiannual   =   7/15/2022
2022 Pre-General (30 Days)   =   10/11/2022
2022 Pre-General (8 Days)   =   10/31/2022
2022 Semiannual Data   =   1/17/2023

This article was published in partnership with Transparency USA. Click here to learn more about that partnership.

Read the full article here.