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O’Rourke drew national headlines when he topped $10 million for the second quarter of 2018 and caught up to the incumbent’s 6-year haul in just 18 months. The race is likely to top $100 million in combined spending by candidates and outside groups — super PACs, party committees and other entities that have already begun pouring money into Texas, not all of which have to disclose their funding sources.
The first Senate races to break the $100 million mark were in North Carolina and Colorado, in 2014.
Two years later, four Senate races broke nine figures thanks to massive spending by outside groups. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey won a second term in a contest that holds the current record at $188 million, followed by New Hampshire ($141 million), Nevada ($128 million) and Florida ($110 million).
By comparison, the last truly competitive Senate race in Texas drew just $23.6 million.
That was in 2002, when Republican John Cornyn – now the Senate majority whip – defeated Democrat Ron Kirk, a former Dallas mayor and future U.S. trade ambassador.
When Cruz won his seat in 2012, the tally hit nearly $70 million, but Democrats accounted for hardly any of that. More than $28 million came then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who outspent Cruz 2-1 and still lost the GOP nomination — proving that money isn’t everything in politics.
“Money is relative. It’s safe to say there’s never enough in Texas,” nor in Florida or California, said Duffy. “It’s enough to be competitive…. He can go point for point with Cruz on television. He’s winning the yard sign war.”
And, most importantly, O’Rourke is building a massive grassroots organization.
The senator may lag in fund-raising but he has other advantages. He’s universally known in Texas. He has friends at the White House to pitch in: Vice President Mike Pence will campaign with him Monday in Dallas, and President Donald Trump plans to headline a rally later this month for Cruz, somewhere in Texas.
Cruz has an impressive fund-raising list compiled during his first Senate run, his anti-Obamacare crusade and his failed presidential effort. But Republicans have nothing equivalent to ActBlue, Duffy noted, making it harder for them to raise massive sums online from fans around the country, as O’Rourke has done.
“This is more than just an anti-Trump and anti-Cruz message. People like the different kind of campaign that O’Rourke is running. His use of social media, the commitment to visit every county, which is not easy,” she said. And the quirkier moments of the campaign, like “seeing a member of Congress skateboard around.”
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