Personal Wealth Gives Dewhurst Huge Money Advantage

U.S. Senate hopeful Ted Cruz, who has never held elective office, raised more money from individual contributors than longtime Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst between mid-May and June, reports released Monday show.

But Dewhurst, thanks to his vast personal fortune, has enjoyed better than a two-to-one financial advantage over Cruz in the Senate race so far.

As of June 30, Dewhurst had loaned himself a net $11.1 million, according to figures on a summary report provided to the Federal Election Commission. Cruz had loaned himself a net $800,000 by the end of June, the reports show. The figures reflect loan repayments made over the course of the race.

Dewhurst loaned himself a total of $4.5 million in the last reporting period, which covers May 10 through June 30. About $1 million in loans were made after the May 29 primary, records show. In that same period, Dewhurst raised about $1.5 million from individual contributors, while Cruz raised $1.7 million.

All told, the candidates are roughly even in the total number of contributions (not including loans) received by their campaign committees in this election. Dewhurst reported $7.8 million in total contributions, compared to $7.5 million for Cruz.

But if their net loans are added in, Dewhurst had a net $19 million or so at his disposal from the beginning of the race through June 30, while Cruz had roughly $8.3 million, the records indicate.

Cruz had $1.5 million in the bank as of June 30, compared to $456,000 for Dewhurst.

The full reports for the latest period were due to the FEC on Sunday, but it takes a while for them to be posted on the FEC website. In the meantime, the candidates released summary information — and then attempted to put the best spin possible on it.

The Dewhurst campaign touted the fact that more than 90 percent of its contributions were from Texas over the period.

“After another successful fundraising quarter, the momentum continues to build for David Dewhurst in his bid for U.S. Senate,” said Dewhurst Senior Adviser Jim Bognet.

The Cruz campaign, meanwhile, said the figures show he is generating high enthusiasm among small donors and getting support from a broad swath of Texas.

Cruz said he has gotten donations from 29,742 people, with more than 20,000 of them giving repeat contributions, since jumping into the race a year and a half ago. Donors from 987 Texas cities and 235 counties had made contributions as of the most recent reporting period. The average donation size was $156.84, the campaign said.

“This is a remarkable showing of grassroots support across Texas and the nation,” said Cruz spokesman James Bernsen.