Although data for fundraising in 2020 has not yet been released, the Federal Election Commission reports for the fourth quarter of 2019 were published earlier this month.
Of the candidates running for federal offices in Texas, the top fundraiser by far was Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who raised nearly $2.75 million, which brought his total cash on hand to a little over $12 million.
The other top raisers included Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02), Democratic Senate candidate MJ Hegar, and former state senator Wendy Davis, who is running for Congress in the 21st Congressional District.
Crenshaw and Hegar were the only other candidates who raised over $1 million — besides Kathaleen Wall, who poured slightly over a million dollars of her own money into the Republican primary race for hotly contested 22nd Congressional District.
Crenshaw raised almost $1.6 million and Hegar raised almost $1.2 million, bringing their respective cash-on-hand totals to $4.3 million and $3.2 million.
Of the Democratic House candidates in Texas, Davis raised the most, just shy of the million-dollar mark with $910,000.
Although Cornyn’s renomination in the Republican primary appears all but certain, the Democratic primary will be a little more competitive.
Hegar has the advantage through fundraising, but a few other candidates raised a notable amount, too:
- State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas): $405,327.68
- Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez: $347,580.52
- Amanda Edwards: $250,048.43
The 2nd Congressional District that Crenshaw serves in is measured with Cook Partisan Voting Index score of R+1, but Democrats are aiming to take back the seat.
Sima Ladjevardian, a former Beto O’Rourke advisor, joined the race just before the filing deadline in December and quickly raised a little over $400,000.
Davis, a former Texas state senator who was recently endorsed by the pro-gun control Brady PAC, is leading in the two-way Democratic primary for the nomination to challenge Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX-21).
Below is the list of the 15 highest-raising federal candidates from Texas in the fourth quarter of 2019:
- John Cornyn (R-Senate, incumbent): $2,749,538.02
- Dan Crenshaw (R-TX-02, incumbent): $1,564,656.67
- MJ Hegar (D-Senate): $1,167,762.66
- Kathaleen Wall (R-TX-22): $1,003,923.25
- Wendy Davis (D-TX-21): $910,007.42
- Gina Ortiz Jones (D-TX-23): $828,452.27
- Colin Allred (D-TX-32, incumbent): $663,177.20
- Pierce Bush (R-TX-22): $663,097.00
- Kevin Brady (R-TX-08, incumbent): $573,302.75
- Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07, incumbent): $550,084.23
- Chris Ekstrom (R-TX-13): $530,816.99
- August Pfluger (R-TX-11): $522,277.00
- Jessica Cisneros (D-TX-28): $517,004.81
- Genevieve Collins (R-TX-32): $437,825.92
- Sima Ladjevardian (D-TX-02): $407,781.40
For more information on competitive and key 2020 elections in Texas, visit The Texan’s War Room.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.
