Two things to say about this story and other news concerning Congressional fundraising in Texas.
Sekula-Gibbs, a former Houston city councilwoman elected to fill in for DeLay until the next full House term started, topped all candidates for fundraising in the third quarter with $415,088 — but only because of the $240,000 she loaned her campaign.
Olson, the former chief of staff for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, raised $217,825 in the 40 days since he entered the race, less than half the time other candidates had to raise money. Olson, whose high-profile backers include Cornyn and former Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, narrowly trailed Sekula-Gibbs in individual contributions, with $166,825 to her $173,353. Olson also loaned his campaign $50,000.
Lampson raised $325,319 in the three-month period, almost half of which came from political action committees and Democratic House colleagues. With $679,418 in the bank, Lampson has a commanding lead over his Republican rivals in cash on hand.
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Among other Republican contenders in the March 4 primary, former Sugar Land Mayor Dean Hrbacek attracted $159,195, with the help of a $50,000 loan to his campaign. Trailing far behind were state Rep. Robert Talton with $34,700 and family court Judge Jim Squier with $13,400. The FEC had no record of a financial report from contender John Manlove, the former mayor of Pasadena who launched his campaign this month.
1. Go, Shelley, go! Win that nomination! Bloggers, cartoonists, and general wise guys everywhere are rooting for you.
2. Looking at Vince’s roundup of third-quarter numbers, CDs22 and 10 look to be the only interesting races next year, as things stand now. Yeah, I know, the GOP will make a run at CD23, but Ciro Rodriguez is in pretty good shape, and neither of his announced opponents looks particularly impressive. I may change my mind about this one, but right now I can’t say I’m terribly worried.
I am disappointed that there’s little real action going on in other places where Democrats had credible candidates last time, in particular CDs 31 and 32, which I believe are winnable with the right candidates and sufficient funds. There’s still time, and at least CD31 has an active candidate, but it’s not looking too good overall. I know, we’ll be plenty busy with the Senate race, the Supreme Court, the House races, and all the action in Harris County, but still. It feels like a step backwards to me.