Colin Allred raises $30 million in third quarter of 2024, outpacing Ted Cruz
The staggering fundraising numbers mean that Cruz and Allred have collectively raised at least $132 million, surpassing the final combined haul from 2018.
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U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised $30.3 million for his Senate campaign in the third quarter of the year, outpacing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s haul over the same three-month period, according to figures announced by both campaigns.
Cruz, the Republican incumbent, raised more than $21 million across his three fundraising accounts, which include a leadership PAC that cannot spend directly on Cruz’s reelection and a joint fundraising committee that sends money to Cruz’s main campaign account and his leadership PAC.
The fundraising deficit is nothing new for Cruz, who has struggled to keep pace with Allred this cycle after being vastly outraised by 2018 Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke. Before the latest fundraising quarter, Allred had raised $38 million to Cruz’s $23 million across their main campaign accounts. When including affiliated PACs, Allred held a narrower advantage: $41.2 million to Cruz’s $40 million.
Cruz closed out the quarter — which ran from the start of July through the end of September — with $16.2 million cash on hand across his three accounts, according to the GOP senator’s campaign. Allred’s campaign did not say how much cash he had in his accounts.
Allred’s $30 million haul is a massive sum, though short of the record $38 million O’Rourke raised in the third quarter of 2018. The Dallas Democrat has raised nearly $69 million since the start of the campaign, however, surpassing the $61 million O’Rourke had collected by the same point.
The fundraising news comes as Allred appears to be narrowing the gap in a race that Cruz has led from the start. Allred has been routinely polling within the margin of error with Cruz, and national Democrats announced last month they were including Texas in a multimillion-dollar ad buy from their Senate campaign arm. Two leading elections forecasters have recently shifted their outlook for the contest from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.”
The latest staggering fundraising numbers mean that Cruz and Allred have collectively raised at least $132 million since the start of the Senate race, smashing the nearly $90 million Cruz and O’Rourke had collected by the same point in 2018 and even surpassing the roughly $119 million they combined to raise by the end of the campaign. Cruz defeated O’Rourke by less than 3 percentage points.
Voting FAQ: 2024 Elections
When is the next election? What dates do I need to know?
Election Day for the general election is November 5, and early voting will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1. The deadline to register to vote and/or change your voter registration address is Oct. 7. Applications to vote by mail must be received by your county of residence – not postmarked – by Oct. 25.
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In addition to the president, eligible Texans have the opportunity to cast their ballots for many Texas officials running for office at the federal, state and local levels.
This includes representatives in the U.S. and Texas houses and the following elected offices:
-1 U.S Senator (Ted Cruz)
- 1 of 3 Railroad Commissioners
- 15 State Senators
- 7 State Board of Education members
- 3 members of the Texas Supreme Court
- 3 members of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
- 5 Chief Justices and various justices for Texas Courts of Appeals
Lower-level judges and local county offices will also appear on the ballot:
- Various district judges, including on criminal and family courts
- County Courts at Law
- Justices of the Peace
- District Attorneys
- County Attorneys
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- Tax Assessor-Collectors
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You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website. You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in:
Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth.
Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in.
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How do I register to vote if I haven’t?
You can request a postage-paid application through the mail or find one at county voter registrars’ offices and some post offices, government offices, or high schools. You can also print out the online application and mail it to the voter registrar in your county.
Applications must be postmarked by the Oct. 7 deadline. Download your application here.
Additionally, you can register to vote through the Texas Department of Public Safety while renewing your driver’s license. You may be able to register to vote online if you’re also allowed to renew your license online. This is the only form of online registration in the state.
After you register to vote, you will receive a voter registration certificate within 30 days. It’ll contain your voter information, including the Voter Unique Identifier number needed to update your voter registration online. If the certificate has incorrect information, you’ll need to note corrections and send it to your local voter registrar as soon as possible.
The voter registration certificate can also be used as a secondary form of ID when you vote if you don’t have one of the seven state-approved photo IDs
What can I do if I have questions about voting?
You can contact your county elections official or call the Texas Secretary of State's helpline at 1-800-252-VOTE (8683). A coalition of voting rights groups is also helping voters navigate election concerns through the 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683) voter-protection helpline. The coalition also has hotlines available for voters who speaker other languages or have accessibility needs.
For help in Spanish, call 888-VE-Y-VOTA or 888-839-8682.
For help in Asian languages, call 888-API-VOTE or 888-274-8683.
For help in Arabic, call 888-YALLA-US or 888-925-5287.
For help in American Sign Language through a video, call 301-818-VOTE or 301-818-8683.
For help from Disability Rights Texas, call 888-796-VOTE or 888-796-8683.
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