Running for a state legislative seat takes money. Sometimes, LOTS of money. You need money to hire staff, to buy yard signs, to print door-hangers, to send out mailers. And if your cash-on-hand (COH) is strong going into the last six weeks, you have more options: you can send out another mailer, you can perhaps do some additional advertising.
Does out-raising your opponent guarantee that you’ll win? Of course not. But it certainly can’t hurt – and in some races, it can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
So, in this red, red state, it’s always interesting to me to see which Dems have out-raised their Repub opponents. Some candidates in the list below have only a small advantage, while others are ahead by thousands of dollars.
Out of the 53 competitive races in this year’s legislative races, we’ve got 11 Dems who are ahead in fund-raising. We’ll list them below, with the numbers. We’ll also list 3 Dems who are oh-so-close to their opponents. In each race, we’ll note whether it is a Dem hold or a Dem flip, and give you the COH numbers for each candidate. The Dem will be listed first, and incumbents will be in bold.
Dems who have out-raised their opponent
Here are the 11 legislative races (out of 53) where the Democrat has out-raised their Republican opponent.
House 38 – Roarx v McKeehan (Dem hold)
- Rachel Roarx – $62,844
- Carrie McKeenan – $37,362
House 41 – Marzian v Cottrell (Dem hold – Josie Raymond’s seat)
- Mary Lou Marzian – $1,492
- Sara-Elizabeth Cottrell – $727
House 45 – Moore v Jefferson (Dem flip – Killian Timoney’s seat)
- Adam Moore – $41,048
- Thomas Jefferson – $23,486
House 46 – Gentry v DeVore (Dem hold)
- Alan Gentry – $46,262
- Bob DeVore – No report
House 47 – Adams v Rabourn (Dem flip)
- Robb Adams – $813
- Felicia Rabourn – $784
House 57 – Hancock v Thompson (Dem hold – Derrick Graham’s seat)
- Erika Hancock – $35,861
- Kyle Thompson – $7,271
House 67 – Lehman v Hatton (Dem hold – Rachel Roberts’s seat)
- Matt Lehman – $41,804
- Terry Hatton – $1,057
House 69 – Stangel v Doan (Dem flip)
- Wilanne Stangel – $14,781
- Steven Doan – $5,551
House 88 – Stevenson v Grossl (Dem hold)
- Cherlynn Stevenson – $100,395
- Vanessa Grossl – $23,445
House 95 – Laferty v Spencer (Dem hold)
- Ashley Laferty – $23,235
- Brandon Spencer – $312
Senate 37 – Yates v Leach (Dem hold)
- David Yates – $98,924
- Calvin Leach – No report (took <$5,000 option, which means no report required till after the election)
Dems who are close in $$
And here are 3 legislative races, all possible Dem flips, where the Dem challenger is neck-and-neck with the incumbent Repub.
House 27 – Chapman v Tate (Dem flip)
- Tyler Chapman – $13,239
- Nancy Tate – $13,905
House 31 – Davis v Witten (Dem flip)
- Colleen Davis – $85,818
- Susan Witten – $90,730
Senate – 27 – Crain v West (Dem flip)
- Molly Crain – $70,194
- Steve West – $72,602
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