Show Me The Money
Seriously, is there anything better than diving through campaign finance reports to see who raised how much? Actually, there is. It’s called the All Star game, which is why I am a day late and (ha ha ha) a dollar short with this post.
But Jake’s back and ready to roll so lets get this party started the only way we know how, with the Senate.
God bless the sane chamber. If you ever want a lesson in the good that comes from not eating your own, check out the Texas Senate. However, it’s not all milk and cookies in the upper chamber, there will be some name calling and mud throwing come this fall, so lets take a look and see who has the most ammunition in their pocket.
Wendy Davis posted some promising numbers in her quest to put Senator in front of her name. She raised 421K for the period and had 392K still on hand at the deadline. I’m not behind her, but I can recognize a good start when I see one. However, Ms. Davis still has an uphill battle before her, seeing as Senator Brimer pulled in 500K for the period and is currently holding on to 1.4 million. Ouch. Better keep crying, Wendy, you’re going to need all the free media you can get your hands on.
That brings us to Senator Jackson, who packed in 358K of his own and is holding on to an impressive 1.2 million. The incumbent Senator’s numbers were good, but his challenger’s weren’t bad either. Specifically, Joe Jaworski took in a quarter mil and ended the period with just north of 400K cash on hand. This, to me, might shape up to be more interesting than Brimer/Davis, for reasons that I may profile at a later date.
This brings us to the House, and where to start? How about with a little game I like to call…Wake-up Call.
Yes, it is true, there are some Republican candidates for the lower chamber that desperately need their wake-up calls. Well this is it. So if your name falls on this list, time to get out of bed, knock the dust off, do some stretches, and get to work because as you rise from your slumber, you’re probably now behind in your race.
Bill Zedler
Oh man, if ever there was the Republican House member that might want to start thinking about exit strategy, I’m afraid to say that it would be Bill Zedler. Poor Mr. Zedler has a lot going against him. For starters, his district is going to be highly politically charged and Mr. Zedler’s numbers were not that great in ‘06 when voters were looking the other way. A lot of District 96 overlaps with the Brimer/Davis Senate race, and don’t think that democrats haven’t taken notice of that. If the D vote turns out big for Ms. Davis, it could spell trouble for Mr. Zedler.
The record to run on is a bit of a problem for Mr. Zedler as well. Taking a look at his bill package from the 80th, I see a lot of bills filed and only 1 bill passed. That kind of performance is not expected from a 3rd term member in the majority party.
And now to Mr. Zedler’s problems we can add that he just got out-fundraised, almost to death. Mr. Zedler took in 83K in donations over the period, boosting him to 157K cash on hand. On the surface it’s not bad. There’s just one problem, Chris Turner raised a super-human 240K for the period and left 173K of it still in the bank. Not only did Mr. Zedler get out-raised for the period, but his power of incumbency is now practically gone, with his opponent now holding on to more cash than he.
But the good news for Mr. Zedler is that he is not dead…yet. But it’s time to go to work. Mr. Zelder, if you’re not knocking on doors then you need to be dialing for dollars. And if at any point you find yourself filling the hours otherwise, go ahead and start packing up your office because your race will be flatlined.
Bryan Daniel
Like Mr. Zedler, Bryan Daniel has a lot working against him. You can start with the fact that thanks to Mike Krusee, the democrats put this race at the top of their charts even before Mr. Daniel announced his candidacy. The fact that nothing seems to be brewing out of Travis County means that the media and liberal activists will now have the chance to turn their attention north, and the geography is not in Mr. Daniel’s favor either.
Mr. Daniel calls Georgetown his home. Georgetown already has a State Rep from the neighborhood (Dan Gattis), and don’t think that notion will escape Round Rock voters when they go to the polls. Also, there has been talk that his camp might not have it together as far as being organized for large scale volunteer activities.
Well, now Bryan Daniel has 97,000 more reasons working against him, because that is how much he now finds himself trailing in the money race. After a dismal 47K raised, Mr. Daniel posted 53K cash on hand, far…far behind Diana Maldonado’s 139K raised and 129K still in the bank. I’ve written about this race before and my thought has always been that despite the hype, it was ours to lose. Well, this is exactly how you go about losing it.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought we got passed Krusee so that we could put up a candidate ready to run?
John Davis
This one is a painful name to put on the list, but sometimes the truth hurts. Yes, this is a rematch from ‘06 that Mr. Davis won by a wide margin, but I am uncomfortable with the fact that Sherrie Matula is out to the early fundraising lead. Currently, she is holding on to 73K to carryover from this period, while Mr. Davis only has 66K in the bank.
Run scared or don’t run at all, Mr. Davis. I would sincerely hate to see a possible (and well deserved) Chairmanship get derailed because you were asleep at the wheel.
Conclusion
So, Republican big-wigs, if you are looking toward where you need to be worried, I’d start with the three before mentioned (the first two more than the third). As for the rest of the House fundraising? Fear not, gentle reader. In a second installment we’ll talk about the other battlegrounds and those who can just flat-out flex the fundraising muscles.
Until then, see you on the flip side.
6 Responses to “Show Me The Money”
By Susan Kishner on Jul 16, 2008
You know, I have to tell you, I really enjoy this blog and the insight from everyone who participates. I find it to be refreshing and very informative. I wish there were more blogs like it. Anyway, I felt it was about time I posted, I
By Jake Hatlin on Jul 16, 2008
Susan -
You are too kind. I look forward to your future comments.
Thanks for checking us out.
JH
By Reid on Jul 17, 2008
Great stuff Jake. I enjoy your blog and am looking forward to what you think about some of the other House races. Specifically, what do you make of the lopsided fundraising results for the hd144 race?
By shannon on Jul 17, 2008
I read you blog occasionally. Google brought this to me because of Bryan Daniel. I am a Bryan Daniel supporter and volunteer. I just wanted to point out that Bryan had a contested primary, and a runoff. Diane Maldonado had neither. In addition, if Bryan’s organization is so under whelming then how did he win a run-off with a born and bred hippo? Because he worked harder and had a better organizational team. Republicans across the state need to be scared but there is not better candidate in Texas than Bryan Daniel and I look forward to him representing us in Austin!
Shannon
By Red in Round Rock on Jul 17, 2008
Whoa dude! I think your comments on the Bryan Daniel/Dist 52 race are way off base. First of all, Daniel has raised nearly equivalent funds to MALdanado’s, only he spent much of it on the primary, in which the Dude fought HARD. Lack of organization? He smacked down the favorite son candidate in the run-off, and did a great job of connecting with voters. And frankly, Round Rock Republicans, (not to be confused with the Lower Round Rock Pygmy RINOs,) don’t give a flip where the candidate lives; we want a pro-life, pro-family, pro-second ammendment, fiscal conservative, not a nitwit beholden to extremist abortion groups and teacher’s unions. I think you ought to take another look at MALdanado’s reports and how much of her donations come from Annie’s List, Teacher’s Unions, and Austin/Travis liberals who want to buy Dist 52 away from residents!
By Jake Hatlin on Jul 17, 2008
Re: Shannon and Red in Round Rock
Let me start by saying that I agree, I truly hope that Mr. Daniel wins his race. I think he would do a far better job in Austin than his opponent. Please don’t interpret my comments on his race otherwise. All my thoughts were was some tough love. If you keep checking back with this site, I think you will find that Sam and I are here to cheer for Republicans when they give us something to cheer about, and to call to question when they don’t.
Yes, Mr. Daniel did have a primary in which he had to spend money and Maldonado didn’t, but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse for his lack of cash on hand. Excuses don’t win campaigns. Hard work wins campaigns. We can hang our hat all day long on the notion that she didn’t have spend in the spring and that her money is dirty money, but in the end, our words do nothing to trim Maldonado’s large lead. The only thing that accomplishes that is double time on the fundraising.
Mr. Daniel’s might have a top notch and well organized campaign, and I hope he does. I won’t offer specifics since I can’t properly source it, but I have repeatedly heard a particular story that would dictate otherwise.
But back to the money, since that was the topic of this post. In the end, I think that Mr. Daniel will have all the money he needs, the Republican machine will make sure of that. But that doesn’t excuse this report. The fact that Maldonado out-raised him and is now almost 100K in front is going to rejuvenate democrat hope for this race. More of their money will now pour in because they can smell the blood in the water.
Bryan Daniel had a chance to make a statement with this report, and he missed it. While it ultimately won’t cost him dollars in the bank, it could cost him in having to face stiffer competition.
But here’s to hoping he comes out on top, a notion that I think all three of us can agree with.
-JH