While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

The general election for the attorney general of Texas will take place on November 8, 2022. In total, candidates running for Texas attorney general have raised $30.8 million, received $13,300 in loans, and spent $30.8 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

Raymond is the representative for Texas House District 42 and is running for re-election in 2022. Raymond raised $546,160 and spent $806,348 between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. According to Texas Ethics Commission reports, Raymond spent the most money with the following individual payees and PACs.

While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has raised $11,825,311 and spent $6,478,357 between Jan. 1, 2021, and May 16, 2022. Patrick currently serves as the president of the state senate.

The general election for Governor of Texas will take place on Nov. 7, 2022. In total, candidates running for Texas governor have raised $72.7 million, received $5.0 million in loans, and spent $62.7 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and May 14, 2022.

According to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has raised $5.9 million and spent $6 million between Jan. 1, 2021 and May 14, 2022. Paxton is currently ranked seventh in state-level donations in the 2022 election cycle.

Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.

Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.

In July, a group of Democratic legislators left Austin, with some traveling to Washington, D.C., in an effort to break the quorum of the Texas Legislature to prevent action on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda. 

Campaign finance requirements govern the raising and spending of money for political campaigns. While not the only factor in an election’s outcome, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages, such as the ability to boost name recognition and promote a message. In addition, fundraising can indicate enthusiasm for candidates and parties.

Across the 10 states included in Transparency USA’s database, several prominent women dominated donor lists in the 2020 election cycle. Some, like Karla Jurvetson and Deborah Simon, targeted key state-level elections across multiple swing states. Others focused their contributions closer to home, supporting candidates and PACs in their state of residence. While Transparency USA focuses on state-level campaign finance, all of these women have supported federal candidates and causes as well. See those contributions here.

In state-level elections, the race for governor is the marquee contest on the ballot, setting the tone for the next two to four years in state government. And several upcoming governor’s races are expected to garner more attention — and be more contentious — than usual due to governors’ COVID-related decisions and rumored 2024 presidential aspirations. We’ve looked at the initial fundraising numbers in the 2022 gubernatorial races in the swing states. Even before the deadline for challengers to jump in, the incumbents are actively fundraising, with Abbott and DeSantis leading the pack.  

You asked, we answered. We were recently contacted by a reader wanting to know who leads the institution responsible for regulating campaign finance in Texas. 

This article is Part 2 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. We’ve selected the Green Energy sector due to a resurgence of interest in a behind-the-scenes look at renewables following the 2021 snowstorms, but you can follow the money in any industry of interest that is spending lobbying dollars in Austin.

In session and out, lobbying is by far the biggest source of money in Texas politics. Taxpayers foot a sizable chunk of the bill, accounting for as much as $110 million (over 16 percent of the total reported lobbying money) during the 2020 election cycle time period. Another $70,429,959 (also around 16 percent of the total) has spent using taxpayer dollars in the 2021 so far.

The stakes were particularly high for the 2020 elections, and not just for the presidency. At the state-level, some of the most closely watched races were Democratic efforts to flip swing state legislatures blue and take control of the upcoming redistricting process.

For the 2020 election cycle (2019 – 2020), more than $109 million in taxpayer dollars was being spent to lobby Austin politicians. With our Lobbying Data feature, Texans can see which organizations hired lobbyists, who they hired, and how much they spent. In addition to pulling back the curtain on lobbying — the largest source of money and influence on Texas lawmakers — we have also divided the organizations hiring lobbyists into two categories: those who are taxpayer-funded and those who are privately-funded. 

**Editor’s Note: Since this article went live, the Texas House formally elected Dade Phelan as Speaker of the House.**

To find some of the most influential people in Austin, look no further than the lobbyists employed by hundreds of entities across the state of Texas. The highest paid lobbyists in Texas politics are hired by organizations willing to spend significant resources persuading lawmakers to support legislation that is favorable to their interests. 

Texas House District 92 includes Bedford, Euless, Hurst, and portions of other communities in Tarrant County.