If campaign contributions equaled votes, Republicans wouldn’t stand a chance in the race for Texas congressional District 28 in November.
During the Democratic primary, progressive Jessica Cisneros and moderate incumbent Henry Cuellar together raised more than $7.5 million in their bids to secure the nomination to the ticket for the upcoming fall general election. Republican Cassy Garcia only raised a little more than $339,000, Federal Elections Commission records show.
Those campaign finance records also reflect a fierce battle between Cisneros and Cuellar in the district that will likely remain blue.
Cuellar beat Cisneros, who has filed a petition for a recount, by just 281 votes during the May 24 runoff election.
The candidates also spent a combined $6,655,072.86 trying to beat each other.
Cisneros, a former Cuellar staffer who has tried to oust him twice now, outraised her former boss, bringing in a total of $4,462,786.90 to his $3,105,161.90.
While Cisneros outraised Cuellar by more than $1 million, the incumbent outspent her and spent more than he raised.
Cuellar spent a total of $3,608,051.48 to Cisneros’ $3,047,021.42.
And during her campaign, Cisneros stayed true to her word and only accepted contributions from individuals. In a news release announcing her petition for a recount, Cisneros said her average contribution was just $35.
FEC campaign finance records back up this claim.
Of the more than $4.4 million she raised, $2,595,349.95 were from individual contributions of $200 or less. However, Texans were not Cisneros’ largest source of individual contributions. California residents donated nearly $500,000 to her campaign, while Texans contributed a little more than $369,000.
Meanwhile, Cuellar received a total of $1,915,281.97 in individual contributions and another $1,122,450 from other committee contributions.
Unlike Cisneros, the majority of individual contributions to Cuellar were $2,000 or more for a total of $1,152,200. In comparison, he only raised $45,458.15 in contributions that were $200 or less.
Texans contributed the most to Cuellar, with the incumbent receiving more than $1 million from Lone Star State residents.
As of Friday afternoon, both Democratic candidates also retained massive war chests, with Cuellar having $1,047,583.15 cash on hand to Cisneros’ $1,418,734.58.
Garcia, who is U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s former deputy state director and an appointee by former President Donald Trump to serve as commissioner for the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, faces a steep fundraising hurdle heading toward November.
She has only raised $339,453.78 and spent just $226,168.20, but she has $113,285.58 in cash on hand.
While her war chest pales in comparison to the Democrats, like Cisneros, the majority of her contributions are from individuals for a total of $278,203.78.
Garcia also received $61,500 in other committee contributions and the vast majority of her contributors are Texans.
