Ted Cruz, Colin Allred each raise $9 million-plus over three months in US Senate race

Foreshadowing an expensive and spirited sprint to November, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Colin Allred have each raised more than $9 million in campaign contributions during the first three months of 2024.

Cruz, seeking his third six-year term in Washington, said his campaign raised $9.7 million across three separate entities that are supporting his reelection. Allred, a three-term Dallas congressman who is giving up a safe seat to make his first statewide race, hauled in $9.5 million just from his Senate campaign.

Early fundraising numbers serve the twin purpose of demonstrating a candidate's ability to mount a credible campaign — especially in a large state like Texas, which has five major TV markets and about a dozen other midsize ones — and measuring support before a race shifts into high gear.

The campaigns made their dollar-figure totals as well as other statistics for the first quarter of 2024 available ahead of the Federal Election Commission's finance reporting deadline later this month. The official filings will contain more detailed information.

Where is the money coming from in Texas U.S. Senate race?

Allred and Cruz each issued news releases with top-line figures designed to show their campaigns' muscle.

Cruz's camp boasted it has received contributions from people in each of Texas' 254 counties and all 50 states from Jan. 1 through March 31. Allred also highlighted his own broad geographical footprint, but with a caveat: contributions to the Democrat came from people in 247 counties, but his camp uses a yardstick that measures back to the launch of his candidacy almost a year ago, not just this year's first quarter. Allred did not say from how many states his contributions came.

Allred said more than 285,000 people have sent his campaign money since he entered the race. Cruz listed his three-month count of campaign contributors at 179,000 and change.

More: Will Ted Cruz 'crawl over broken glass' to win support of Democrats in reelection effort?

How much do the Senate candidates have on hand?

Cruz said his campaign and aligned political action committees ended the first quarter with a combined $15.1 million in the bank. Allred's camp said the cash-on-hand totals will be made public when the official FEC paperwork is filed.

Allred started the year sitting on more than $10 million. But from that total, he had to pay bills related to the March 5 primary, where he bested a field of nine, including state Sen. Roland Gutierrz of San Antonio, to nail down the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

How are Cruz, Allred spinning the numbers?

Representatives of both campaigns issued on-message reactions to their candidates' fundraising prowess.

"This campaign is about rejecting the divisiveness of Ted Cruz and fighting for Texans’ freedoms," said Allred campaign manager Paige Hutchinson. "This continues our momentum to build a strong campaign to win in November and send Ted Cruz packing for good.”

More: Rep. Colin Allred clinches Texas Democratic nomination to challenge US Sen. Ted Cruz

Cruz spokesman Nick Maddux said: "His quarter-one fundraising numbers reflect Texans' urgency for victory as Democrats threaten to strip away our common-sense way of life. Senator Cruz will continue to pound the pavement day in and day out, meeting and talking to Texans in every corner of the state to Keep Texas, Texas, and ensure that we remain the nation's bastion of liberty."

How much more money will Allred, Cruz need to raise?

Short answer: A lot. But in truth, it's impossible to say, exactly, because political races get more and more expensive every election cycle.

For a relevant comparison, look to the 2018 U.S. Senate race in Texas. Then seeking his second term, Cruz raised about $50 million that year, but only $2.7 million of that came in the first quarter.

His Democratic opponent, former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso, raised around an eye-popping $80 million.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How much have Ted Cruz and Colin Allred raised so far in Senate race?