Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers in the Texas House of Representatives, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the House submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission. It includes activity between July 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022.
Top fundraisers in the Texas House of Representatives by party
The top fundraisers in Texas House of Representatives elections are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they were on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Mihaela Plesa (District 70) – $510,818
- Terry Canales (District 40) – $403,085
- Frank Ramirez (District 118) – $389,303
- Abel Herrero (District 34) – $365,262
- Salman Bhojani (District 92) – $350,883
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Dade Phelan (District 21) – $4,583,997
- Jamee Jolly (District 70) – $1,864,279
- John Lujan (District 118) – $1,779,180
- Morgan Meyer (District 108) – $1,307,386
- Janie Lopez (District 37) – $1,251,157
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $11.7 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $31.8 million. Combined, all House fundraisers in the July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022, filing period raised $43.5 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 17 percent of all Democratic House fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 34 percent of all Republican House fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.
| TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (July 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
| Dade Phelan | Republican Party | $4,583,997 | $3,619,277 |
| Jamee Jolly | Republican Party | $1,864,279 | $357,052 |
| John Lujan | Republican Party | $1,779,180 | $510,630 |
| Morgan Meyer | Republican Party | $1,307,386 | $672,280 |
| Janie Lopez | Republican Party | $1,251,157 | $211,004 |
| Angie Chen Button | Republican Party | $892,330 | $706,901 |
| Katherine Parker | Republican Party | $830,895 | $100,315 |
| Steve Allison | Republican Party | $804,703 | $388,099 |
| Caroline Harris | Republican Party | $772,141 | $365,811 |
| David Glasheen | Republican Party | $700,700 | $719,833 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate committees submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission. Candidate committees represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate committees. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines.
This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.