The candidates for Texas Senate District 9 continued seeing vastly different budgets and backing as they campaigned ahead of the Jan. 31 runoff election, according to their most recent campaign finance reports.
The latest filings show what Democrat and Republican raised and spent between Oct. 25 and Jan. 21, after they split the majority vote in the Nov. 4 election. The high-profile special election to fill the state Senate seat, which represents much of Tarrant County, is largely ceremonial, as whoever wins on Jan. 31 will have to immediately seek reelection in November.
Election Day is Saturday and the last day to is Tuesday.
Tarrant County residents can check if they live in . Voter registration status and sample ballots may be found at .
Wambsganss, a Southlake Republican and chief communications officer of Patriot Mobile, reported raising $893,010 for her already high-dollar campaign mostly bankrolled by political action entities, or PACs. That puts her total raised at over $2.5 million.
Wambsganss鈥� newest funds come from about 217 donors, who contributed an average check size of $3,705.
Rehmet, a Fort Worth Democrat and machinist union leader, nearly tripled the size of his relatively small-dollar campaign, but still saw mostly individual donors. He raised $255,360 over the latest campaign finance periods, bringing his total donations to $380,626, not including in-kind services.
The latest funds came from about 1,860 donors, who contributed average check sizes of $116. Contributions of $500 or less composed 48% of the funds raised.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to highlight that we haven鈥檛 taken a dime of corporate special-interest money,鈥� Rehmet told the Report in a written statement. 鈥淚 think that matters. It means that when I鈥檓 elected, the only people I鈥檒l be accountable to are the people who live and work in Senate District 9.鈥�
Wambsganss told the Report in a statement that she鈥檚 proud of the support she鈥檚 garnered.
鈥淚t is a demonstration of the faith and confidence of the voters and their acknowledgement that I will deliver on conservative legislative priorities important to SD9,鈥� she said.
The Senate District 9 runoff election was triggered after no in the Nov. 4 election. In that race, Rehmet came about 3,000 votes shy of an outright win, as Wambsganss split the GOP vote with a third opponent.
Wambsganss sees large donations from GOP, business PACs
Wambsganss鈥� largest donations of $350,000 came from the , a committee that advertises itself as being devoted to cutting wasteful spending in the legal system and politics.
Before Oct. 25, the PAC donated $200,000 to Wambsganss. The committee is largely bankrolled by billionaires, including real estate tycoon and Hillwood founder who individually gave Wambsganss another $10,000.
Wambsganss reported another $150,000 from the Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC, a committee started by that donated about $450,000 to her last fall.
She also reported receiving $100,000 from the , a PAC devoted to 鈥渁dvancing the goals of the conservative majority in the Texas Senate.鈥� Before Oct. 25, the PAC donated $363,250 to Wambsganss.
Other PAC donors include $10,000 from the , $10,000 from the and $10,000 from the , a PAC entirely funded by billionaire , the owner of Sundance Square who frequently donates to Fort Worth City Council and Tarrant County commissioner campaigns.
Wambsganss also reported receiving $900 worth of services. Her in-kind contributions include $400 for block-walking and $500 for campaign texting.
Rehmet received mostly small donations, some Democratic support
Rehmet鈥檚 biggest donor since the Nov. 4 election was Daniel Cocanougher, a Wise County native who made his initial fortune .鈥� Cocanougher contributed $30,000 to the campaign.
Rehmet also reported receiving $11,885.55 from the and $10,000 from the . Democratic state politicians, including U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, state Reps. Chris Turner, Ann Johnson and Ramon Romero Jr.
Apart from cash donations, Rehmet reported receiving $174,408 worth of services.
This included a $141,250 voter turnout program from the , a committee devoted to electing Democrats into office that is by and the federal . The committee also gave $2,133 worth of services in the form of dialer and texting efforts.
The state Senate District 9 seat has been red since 1991. It became vacant in June when former Sen. resigned to become .
The winner on Jan. 31 will serve the remainder of Hancock鈥檚 term, which runs through the end of the year. Candidates have already filed for a prospective rematch in the March primaries.
What is the makeup of the Texas Senate?
The 31-member Texas Senate has 20 Republican seats and 11 Democratic seats.
In November, 16 Senate seats are on the ballot.
Five Republican incumbents, including Hancock, have or will step down from their seats.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
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