Democratic Challenger Flexes Fundraising
Muscle as Campaign Reports Flow into State
July 15, 2008
By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor
Arlington consultant Chris Turner has managed campaigns for U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards - the Waco Democrat who House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has touted as vice-presidential material during the past few weeks. So Turner knows a thing or two about fundraising for Democrats in Republican districts.
Turner, who's a candidate himself for the first time this year, put that experience to good use when he raised more money during the past six months than the Republican state House incumbent he's trying to unseat at the polls in November has since his last re-election victory in 2006.
Turner reported contributions of more than $240,000 during the first half of 2008 - according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday at the Texas Ethics Commission - while State Rep. Bill Zedler of Arlington raised about $84,000 since a week before a victory in the Republican primary election in March. Zedler has rounded up almost $208,000 during the past 18 months in his bid for a fourth House term.
Turner joined an elite club of House candidates who topped the $200,000 mark in contributions during the past months while running unopposed in the primary election. State Rep. Patrick Rose, a Dripping Springs Democrats who's seeking a fourth term as well, continued to be one of the Democrats' most prolific fundraisers in Texas with contributions of more than $287,000 since January 1. Rose's Republican opponent, Wimberly business owner Matt Young, raised about one dollar for every five that the incumbent corralled during the past six months.
State Rep. Dan Branch, a Dallas Republican whose district includes Highland Park, is expected to show more than $204,000 in contributions for the first half of the year when his new report is posted on Wednesday. A significant number of campaign finance reports that are due this week at the TEC had not been made public by the close of business on Tuesday. Rose and Branch have raised about $856,000 and $819,000 respectively during the current two-year election cycle. The new report for Branch's Democratic opponent Emil Reichstadt hadn't been posted by late Tuesday.
House Speaker Tom Craddick - as expected - is a different league in the fundraising competition after reporting contributions of more than $653,000 since the start of the year. Craddick's general election foe, Democrat Bill Dingus of Midland, raised less than one-tenth as much as the speaker during the past six months with contributions of about $63,000 in the same time frame.
Some of the most successful fundraisers among Texas House candidates during that time included Democrat Carol Kent, a Richardson school trustee who raised more than $169,000 since January 1 for a fall battle with Republican State Rep. Tony Goolsby of Dallas. Goolsby raised only $56,000 in the past six months but ended the period with $403,000 in the campaign bank - more than three times the amount of cash on hand that Kent reported.
Republican State Rep. Jim Murphy of Houston rounded up more than $130,000 while Democratic opponent Kristi Thibaut wasn't far behind with contributions of more than $122,000 for the fall rematch. Murphy won his first House term when he beat Thibaut in 2006. Another House freshman - Democratic State Rep. Valinda Bolton of Austin - raised more than $120,000 during the past six months while GOP foe Donna Keel reported contributions of almost $50,000 in her debut as a candidate. Keel is former House member Terry Keel's sister-in-law. Bolton holds the seat that Terry Keel, who's now the House parliamentarian, used to represent before giving it up when he decided to run for a statewide judicial post instead two years ago.
While lawmakers like Rose and Branch have been two of the House's most talented fundraisers since entering the chamber in 2003, Turner's success in the money arena during his debut as a candidate underscores how optimistic Democrats are about their chances of knocking off Zedler this fall. Democrats think they may have a better chance to pick up Zelder's seat than any others that Republican incumbents are defending in House races in the general election.
Turner received help from inside and outside the district from a long list of donors that included trial lawyers, labor representatives, Democratic party organizations, liberal bloggers and individual contributors. Turner reported contributions of $15,000 from Waco insurance magnate Bernard Rapoport, $10,000 from Houston attorney John Moslyn and $15,000 from the Texas Values in Action PAC that's controlled by Dallas lawyer Fred Baron.
Turner's $5,000 contributors included the House Democratic Campaign Committee, former House member Lyndon Olson of Waco, Cecilia Boone of Dallas and her daughter Aimee Boone, the Texas Democratic Party's finance director, and Baron. The Boones and other Turner donors have been key contributors to Annie's List, an Austin-based PAC that supporters Democratic women in House campaigns. Turner received $1,000 from B.A. Bentsen, the wife of the late U.S. senator and treasury secretary Lloyd Bentsen.
The details on Zedler's report were not available Tuesday night. Capitol Inside will be reporting on the fundraising reports for state House and Senate contenders as they become available this week.