Good to see, but it’s just the first step.
Rep. Colin Allred
U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, raised nearly $6.2 million in roughly the first two months of his campaign against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. He also transferred an additional $2.4 million from his House campaign account.
The numbers, first shared with The Texas Tribune, mean Allred will report about $8.6 million in total receipts between when he launched his Senate campaign on May 3 and the end of the second quarter, which was June 30. His campaign previously announced raising over $2 million in its first 36 hours.
Allred’s second-quarter fundraising cements his formidability as a fundraiser. Cruz’s last Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, was a fundraising juggernaut at the height of the race, but it took him his first three fundraising quarters — nine months — to raise the $6.2 million that Allred collected in 59 days.
“Since day one this campaign has been about bringing people together to beat Ted Cruz and give this state the leadership it deserves,” Allred’s campaign manager, Paige Hutchinson, said in a statement. “We are amazed at the outpouring of support, and more confident than ever that we will have the resources to win next November and send Ted Cruz packing.”
Cruz has not released his second-quarter fundraising numbers yet. The figures are not due to the Federal Election Commission until July 15.
Allred’s campaign said the over $2.4 million that he transferred from his House account included direct funds and in-kind contributions, or non-monetary contributions such as goods and services. The transfer underscores the considerable money Allred already had saved up when he entered the Senate race — his House account had $2.2 million cash on hand at the close of the first quarter.
Allred’s campaign did not release how much cash on hand his Senate account had after the second quarter. Cruz’s reelection committee had a balance of $3.3 million after the first quarter.
I will of course report on these and other finance reports later in the month. July is the busiest time for this sort of thing. The same reports are due in January, it’s just that there’s less campaign activity associated with that time.
I am of course glad to see Rep. Allred raise this kind of money – Texas is a famously expensive state in which to campaign – and hope it is a good omen for things to come. But raising money, at least for federal races, hasn’t been a big problem for Texas Dems lately. Getting the most out of those big bucks is the open question. It would be nice if we got a push at the Presidential level, and maybe a couple of Congressional campaigns as well. The potential exists to vote on a new Attorney General next year, too. The stakes, they are high.
I have to wonder if Sen. Roland Gutierrez will actually join the Senate campaign at this point. We’re in special session #2, with #3 almost certain to follow (albeit maybe not immediately). Among other things, this means that he can’t fundraise, which is now that much more of an obstacle for him. Sen. Gutierrez isn’t up for re-election until 2026 so this campaign is a freebie for him, and there’s nothing like a statewide campaign, even a losing one, to raise one’s profile. But the longer this goes on, the harder it will be for him to mount something credible, and one always prefers to lose well if one must lose. I dunno, he doesn’t have to decide anything today and he certainly doesn’t have to listen to me. I’m just wondering if a call to discuss the issues of importance with Allred might be the more expedient use of his time.
I am not an authority on internal Democrat primary dynamics, but I recall in 1996 when an underfunded, unknown Hispanic candidate (Victor Morales) beat a couple of prominent US Congressmen from north Texas in a statewide primary. I suspect Gutierrez starts with a strong affinity among Hispanic voters, and that they make up 30 or 40% of statewide Democrat primary turnout.
That, for the most part, was an outlier; Morales has the same last name as a well-known state-wide elected official.
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