Hot off the digital press, here’s a quick look at Q2 fundraising numbers for top line Texas races.
Statewide
The Texas Ethics Commission reporting window covers the first half of the year from February 22 through June 30.
On the statewide front, the races for Texas governor and lieutenant governor continue to have similarly sizable fundraising gaps, financially favoring the Republicans.
Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic gubernatorial challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin), had about a $19 million difference between the amounts their campaigns raised. His Texans for Greg Abbott specific-purpose political committee (SPAC) came in with $25.5 million raised per its Texas Ethics Commission report, with $67.4 million in cash on hand (COH). Hinojosa touted raising $6 million, and wrapped up the reporting window with almost exactly $3 million in COH.
Abbott’s COH is down from its peak of $105.7 million at the beginning of the year, but the governor has made clear that he intends to spend his massive war chest on helping other Republicans further down the ballot. According to the latest campaign finance report, he spent a whopping $54.6 million between the pre-primary election report on February 23 and the July semiannual.
Specifically, he is intent on turning Harris County “dark red after this election,” as he recently confirmed at the Republican Party of Texas’ 2026 state convention, through use of both his war chest and increased voter turnout. Abbott also upped the percentage of in-state donations he received during this fundraising window, going up from 90 percent to 93 percent.
Democratic state Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin), who is challenging Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, came in with nearly $400,000 to the incumbent’s reported $5 million in receipts — up from his $3.5 million in the January semiannual reports. Goodwin ended the period, which saw an overall similar fiscal turnout as she had reported in January, with over $318,000 in COH, while Patrick wrapped up with $35.3 million in the bank.
In the Texas attorney general contest, the Republican nominee, state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), raised about three times the amount as his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas). Middleton reported over $900,000 in receipts, while Johnson reported about $364,000. Middleton has $118,000 in COH, while Johnson is leading at $291,000.
Worth noting is the fact that Johnson only spent about $163,000 during this reporting period, while Middleton’s expenditures were reckoned at $3.25 million. Middleton has also made personal loans of $5.2 million to his own campaign committee.
In the Texas comptroller contest,, Republican candidate and former state Sen. Don Huffines once again came in with a strong haul. He reported a whopping $4.7 million raised, while his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin), posted receipts of $320,000. Huffines has about $1 million in COH, while Eckhardt sits at $240,000.
The Republican candidate for railroad commissioner, former Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French, outraised his Democratic opponent, State Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston), by a factor of two to one. The latter reported $168,000 in receipts, while French raised $334,000. French also has $223,000 in COH, while Rosenthal has about $65,000.
Federal
The Federal Ethics Commission’s second quarter reporting window spanned from April 1 to June 30.
Talarico handily outraised Paxton, with his team announcing about a week prior to the deadline that he had raised about $32 million during the quarter — touting it as the largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate during the second quarter of an election year. He wrapped up with $21.5 million in COH.
Paxton followed with about a third of Talarico’s haul, touting having raised $9.2 million, the “largest fundraising quarter for any non-incumbent GOP Senate candidate” and completing the quarter with $1.7 million in COH.
This follows the pattern of Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred outraising Ted Cruz in 2018 and 2024. But Paxton is tracking behind Cruz’s 2024 totals, which is concerning. On the plus side, he does get to run against Talafreako…
The exit of Graham Platner, the former Democratic nominee challenging U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), from the U.S. Senate race in Maine could push even more Democratic dollars toward Talarico as the national party aims to flip seats long held by the GOP.
Among the most high-profile races in South Texas and at the center of both parties’ fight for the Latino vote, U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15) is facing a Democratic challenger in Tejano singer Bobby Pulido. The two weren’t far apart in their fundraising hauls, and the incumbent did not come out in the lead.
De La Cruz reported raising $1.2 million, but Pulido outraised her with $1.4 million in receipts. The former has a more solid COH at $2.5 million, while Pulido’s COH is about half at $1.2 million.
The Cook Political Report shifted its rating of Congressional District (CD) 15 on Thursday among a handful of other states’ contests towards favoring the Democrats – shifting the race from “Likely R” to “Lean R.” The Texan’s Texas Partisan Index rates the district at R-55%, but with a Republican in the White House, the GOP is expected to face an uphill battle in the midterm elections.
In early May, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Pulido to their “Red to Blue” program to direct additional resources to the race, signalling a focus on taking the seat.
In three other South Texas seats, the Republican candidate was also outraised by the Democrat — in CDs 35, 34, and 28.
The latter race, between U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, was under particular focus this week as President Donald Trump lambasted Cuellar for running again as a Democrat and threw his support behind Tijerina. Trump argued that Cuellar was running for the very party that had “weaponized” the U.S. Justice Department against him — referencing the various criminal charges Cuellar faced before Trump issued him a presidential pardon in December.
Tijerina came in with about $578,000 in receipts, while Cuellar took the lead with $611,000 raised. Cuellar also has $1.1 million in COH, while Tijerina sits at over $876,000.
Trump-endorsed Carlos De La Cruz, the brother of U.S. Rep. De La Cruz, was outraised by his Democratic opponent, Johnny Garcia — with the latter reporting $684,000 in receipts, while De La Cruz raised $536,000. Garcia also leads in COH with $323,000, while De La Cruz follows at $272,000.
They’re running in a district currently represented by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX-35), but one that was heavily impacted by redistricting — going from a TPI rating of D-70% to R-55%. Because of said redistricting, Casar is now running for CD 37, currently held by the outgoing Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37). The Democratic candidate in CD 35, Johnny Garcia, is also a part of the “Red to Blue” program.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34) led against his Republican challenger, Eric Flores, with $866,000 raised and $2.5 million in COH. Flores reported $716,000 raised and $683,000 in COH.
No big surprises in there, though I do think Ken Paxton needs to step up the fundraising…
