Now right down to a polarizing runoff between Democrat-backed Gina Ortiz Jones and state GOP leaders-allied Rolando Pablos, well-funded exterior teams and nationwide consultants are descending on San Antonio’s mayoral race.
The Texas Financial Fund, a PAC run by Gov. Greg Abbott’s former political director that’s already been shelling out to assist Pablos, reported elevating $1.35 million up to now month. To this point the PAC has spent $623,000 of it on the runoff, together with greater than $450,000 on TV advertisements and junk mail attacking Jones.
Fields of Change, a nationwide Democratic PAC that helped Jones within the first spherical, has been working digital advertisements within the runoff referencing the pro-Pablos group, saying the identical mega donors “bankrolling Abbott and Trump” try to make San Antonio a “MAGA paradise.”
The professional-Jones PAC reported spending about $160,000 up to now within the runoff.
Marketing campaign finance studies had been due Friday — providing the primary and solely look voters will get at cash raised and spent between the final election and the June 7 runoff till after it’s over.
Whereas quite a few exterior teams have been dropping in to assist Jones with textual content messages, mailers and on-line advertisements within the ultimate stretch, a lot of that spending had not been filed with town as of Friday afternoon.
Some teams filed studies with the state on their general spending, however it’s much less clear how a lot has been spent on Jones’ behalf.
Mayoral candidates can solely accumulate as much as $1,000 from every particular person donor every election cycle, which begins over once they make it to the runoff. For council candidates the person contribution restrict is $500 per election cycle.
Which means for the reason that Might 3 election, candidates who superior to a runoff have been juggling not solely marketing campaign occasions and candidate boards — but additionally fundraisers to restock their coffers.
Early voting for the runoff runs by means of June 3. Election day voting will happen from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 7.
Mayor’s race
Pablos’ marketing campaign has raised $332,000 for the reason that first spherical, spent $275,000 and reported $82,000 readily available. His 164-page report was stuffed with deep-pocketed donors who gave the utmost $1,000.
Jones’ marketing campaign raised $248,000, spent $133,000 and reported $137,000 readily available. Her 528-page report was made up primarily of donations beneath $1,000, together with many from exterior of San Antonio.
Jones completed first with 27% within the first spherical, to Pablos’ 17%.
Whereas Pablos wants an enormous shift in a brief span of time to beat that, Texas Republicans have been investing big sums of cash into races with Hispanic voter bases, and this mayor’s race is not any exception.
Among the many revealing particulars in Pablos’ report: He spent $70,000 with Axiom, a D.C.-based consulting agency that’s working Lawyer Common Ken Paxton’s marketing campaign in opposition to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), which is doing mailers for his marketing campaign.
One other $80,000 went to Indiana-based Prosper Group for consulting and advertisements, and $15,000 went to D.C.-based FP1 methods, greatest recognized for its work on GOP federal races.
Earlier this month Pablos additionally promoted outcomes of a push-poll that his marketing campaign deliberate to make use of to redefine Jones, which it seems to have paid about $30,000 for Oklahoma-based Pulse Resolution Science to supply.
A lot of Jones’ marketing campaign spending went towards employees salaries for canvassers and voter outreach. About $60,000 of it went to D.C.-based The Pivot Group Inc. for mailers.
Outdoors teams pile in
Jones’ marketing campaign is getting assist from an array of various exterior teams, together with Deliberate Parenthood and AFSCME.
Native progressive group Act4SA Motion PAC spent $25,000 on canvassing for her — and the Texas Financial Fund is already working advertisements attacking her for the teams’ previous police reform work.
The progressive Texas Organizing Undertaking seems to have spent about $25,000. Annie’s Listing, which helps Democratic girls in Texas, has been attacking Pablos. The Texas Democratic Get together is sending mailers that decision Pablos “Greg Abbott’s largest fan.”
Pablos, in the meantime, is getting massive assist from the San Antonio Police Officers Affiliation, which is working a pair of TV advertisements. One talks about Pablos’ assist for native legislation enforcement, whereas the opposite is about Jones’ out-of-state donations.
The union SAPOA spent about $150,000 on the TV advertisements and one other $60,000 on billboards. In a separate submitting with the state, it reported about $861,000 nonetheless readily available.
District 1
Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who raised greater than most mayoral hopefuls within the first spherical, introduced in one other $72,000 for the runoff.
She spent $30,000 and reported about $55,000 readily available.
Kaur took 49% of the vote, falling simply wanting the bulk assist wanted to win outright, and superior to a runoff with Northside neighborhood chief Patty Gibbons, who took 18%.
Kaur has supported a number of main downtown redevelopment efforts like the brand new Missions’ Minor League Baseball stadium, Undertaking Marvel and a transit hall down San Pedro Avenue — drawing a protracted listing of challengers who opposed the initiatives, and a few business-backed supporters who need to see them occur.
She’s additionally receiving assist from Futuro San Antonio, an education-focused PAC with ties to the constitution faculty motion. Kaur owns an schooling consulting firm targeted on in-district charters.
Gibbons has raised little or no for the race, bringing in about $5,000 for the runoff and loaning her marketing campaign $25,000 this week.
District 6
The race to symbolize Westside District 6 got here right down to a runoff between two progressive activists, inflicting some attention-grabbing political maneuvering as they line up assist for the second spherical.
As of Friday night, no marketing campaign finance report was obtainable for labor organizer Kelly Ann Gonzalez.
Apparently, she received assist from the business-backed Higher SA, which at one level labored in opposition to a 2023 poll proposition aimed toward police reform which Gonzalez had helped set up.
At a current debate, Gonzalez sought distance from Proposition A’s extra controversial parts. Higher SA has now spent about $27,000 on her behalf, and is working digital advertisements saying she is going to “enhance public security, assist native companies and prioritize public schooling.”
Ric Galvan, a particular initiatives supervisor within the District 5 council workplace, raised $21,500, spent $11,000 and reported $14,000 readily available.
He’s receiving assist from the AFSCME, the union representing metropolis staff. Each candidates have labor connections, however the endorsement comes after Gonzalez not too long ago labored for the native AFSCME on a significant coverage challenge at Metropolis Corridor.
Gonzalez and Galvan completed neck-and-neck within the first spherical, with 19.7% and 19.4% assist, respectively.
District 8
Within the race to symbolize among the metropolis’s wealthiest enclaves, Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, a former chief of employees to Mayor Ron Nirenberg, massively outraised conservative lawyer Paula McGee.
Within the first spherical, Gonzalez took 40% of the vote within the first spherical to McGee’s 22%.
Since then, Meza Gonzalez raised has about $82,000, spent $35,000 and reported about $60,000 readily available.
She’s getting assist from the Texas Realtors PAC, Deliberate Parenthood and SAPOA.
McGee raised about $30,000, spent $52,000 and reported about $14,000 readily available. She loaned her marketing campaign one other $25,000 this week, bringing her private funding within the race to $50,000.
McGee is paying roughly $40,000 to CSG, Inc., a agency owned by native strategist Kelton Morgan, which is doing junk mail and digital advertisements on her behalf.
District 9
Within the District 9 runoff, Misty Spears is pulling in extra money and has a protracted listing of deep-pocketed teams spending on her behalf.
She’s leaned into the GOP supporters who need to see a conservative district of their social gathering’s arms, whereas her opponent, Angi Taylor Aramburu, turned down backing from the Democratic Get together and appears to be receiving much less assist.
After ending first by about 400 votes, Spears took a step again from public marketing campaign occasions throughout the runoff. She introduced in about $47,000 throughout a number of massive fundraisers, spent $22,000 and reported $44,000 readily available.
Taylor Aramburu raised $32,000, spent $21,000 and reported $16,000 readily available.
Among the many exterior teams spending on this race, business-backed teams San Antonio Fairness Alliance and Higher SA put in a complete of about $50,000 for Spears. The police and hearth unions are additionally serving to her and the Texas Realtors PAC is working digital advertisements on her behalf.
