austonia newsletter
Most viewed
MJ Hegar raises $13.5 million in third quarter, a huge improvement over past hauls
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate MJ Hegar raised $13.5 million in the third quarter.
By Patrick Svitek
MJ Hegar, the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced Wednesday that she raised over $13.5 million in the third quarter, a massive improvement over her previous hauls.
The $13.5 million is nearly eight times more than what she raised during her previous best quarter. That was $1.7 million in the second quarter of this year.
The fundraising bonanza left Hegar with over $8 million cash on hand at the end of this month, her campaign said. Cornyn, who has had a decisive financial advantage from the start, had $14.5 million in the bank at the end of June.
Still, Hegar's latest fundraising puts her into financial competition with Cornyn in a way she never was before. For over a year, as she fought for her party's nomination to challenge Cornyn, Hegar's cash on hand remained a small fraction of his.
The third quarter saw Hegar win the nomination in a July 14 primary runoff against state Sen. Royce West of Dallas. She raised over $1 million in the week after the runoff victory, according to her campaign.
Cornyn has not released any fundraising numbers for the third quarter, which ends Wednesday. They face an Oct. 15 deadline to disclose their full third-quarter finances to the Federal Election Commission.
While Cornyn has not shared his third-quarter haul yet, Hegar's $13.5 million easily eclipses his previous best quarter this election cycle, which was $3.5 million in the second quarter of this year.
Hegar's third-quarter fundraising also tops the $12 million that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz raised during the same period in 2018 during his blockbuster race against Democrat Beto O'Rourke. O'Rourke raked in a record-breaking $38.1 million that quarter.
Hegar has already been putting the new money to use with a statewide TV ad blitz. Her campaign noted she is airing ads on broadcast in nine of the state's top markets: Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Harlingen, Waco, Tyler and Corpus Christi.
More on the election:
- U.S. Sen. John Cornyn faces Round Rock's MJ Hegar for TX seat ... ›
- Texas U.S. senators push back on Trump's call to delay presidential ... ›
- College athletes get Election Day off led by Chris Bosh - austonia ›
- Austin City Council candidate forums planned before election ... ›
- 20 candidates will vie for five Austin City Council seats this November ›
- Voters, voting rights groups sue Gov. Greg Abbott over order to close ballot drop-off locations - austonia ›
- Joe Biden endorses Round Rock vet MJ Hegar for U.S. Senate - austonia ›
Popular
Nancy Flores, Austin Vida editor and publisher, is bringing back the Latino media organization to Austin.
Growing up along the South Texas border, Nancy Flores, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, made it her mission to uplift the voices of Latinos "a long time ago."
The Texas Department of State Health Services will allocate 333,650 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 260 providers this week, with the bulk assigned to hub providers that are focused on widespread community distribution events. Eight of those providers are in Travis County.
- UT professor played role in Pfizer and Moderna's COVID vaccines ... ›
- Austin Public Health prepares for COVID vaccine distribution ... ›
- Austin area businesses required to reduce capacity to 50% - austonia ›
- Austin Public Health to receive 12,000 doses of COVID vaccine ... ›
- Texas changes vaccine rollout strategy as Austin providers run out ... ›
- Austin Public Health debuts COVID vaccine sign-up list - austonia ›
- Everything we know about Austin's COVID vaccine rollout - austonia ›
Due to shipping delays, allocations of the Pfizer vaccine scheduled to be distributed in Texas on Monday will now arrive on Tuesday.
- A 'handful' of ineligible people got the COVID vaccine in Austin ... ›
- Austin healthcare offering COVID-19 vaccine waitlists - austonia ›
- Everything we know about Austin's COVID vaccine rollout - austonia ›
- Texas widens COVID vaccine access, but Austin doses are limited ... ›