On the Records: Senate Runoff Spending Topped $45 Million
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Ahead of Tuesday's Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, a full picture of the amount of money that has been spent on the race is coming into focus.
Between the rivals' campaigns and a cadre of outside groups, more than $45 million has been spent trying to convince Texas Republicans which candidate is the best choice for the open U.S. Senate Seat, campaign finance records show.
Both Dewhurst and Cruz raised nearly $8 million each. Factoring in loan repayments, Dewhurst supplemented his war chest with $19 million of his own money, $8 million of which he has invested since July 12. Cruz contributed more than $1 million of his money to his campaign, including $250,000 he added in earlier this month.
The campaign of former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who came in third in the May primary, spent $7.1 million, of which $3.4 million came from his own bank account.
Spending from outside groups, which has become an issue in the race, made up nearly a third of the total spending on the race, with two Super PACs — the pro-Cruz Club for Growth and the pro-Dewhurst Texas Conservatives Fund — far outspending several others that weighed in on the race.
| David Dewhurst | Ted Cruz | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Raised (as of 7/11) | $7,783,421 | $7,919,690 |
| Total Spent (as of 7/11) | $18,801,096 | $7,265,380 |
| Last Reported Cash on Hand (as of 7/11) | $107,343 | $1,452,297 |
| Total Raised (pre-runoff reports, 7/12-7/25) | $315,100 | $533,976 |
| Personal Loans to Campaign (as of 7/11) | $16,500,000 | $1,030,000 |
| Personal Loans to Campaign (pre-runoff reports, 7/12-7/25) | $8,000,000 | $250,000 |
| Loan Repayments (as of 7/11) | -$5,363,437 | -$235,000 |
| Total Loans to Campaign | $19,136,563 | $1,045,000 |
| Super PACs Spending In Favor | $546,745 | $1,824,242 |
| Super PACs Spending In Opposition | $4,971,435 | $5,511,602 |
Shefali Luthra assisted in the gathering of data from pre-runoff reports.
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