“Ultimately the mega dollars are moving — regardless [of whether the majority is on the line] — because of the voucher fight, and really the fight for the largest budget item in the state of Texas, which is education,” said Ana Ramón, executive director of the Democratic group Annie’s List, which is helping Democrats in both races.
Before lawmakers get to that fight, they’ll first have to elect a House speaker — another issue drawing money into these races — which could upend the House’s moderating influence in the legislature.
Plus, a well-funded push to legalize casino gambling in Texas is creating some unusual bedfellows.
Against that backdrop, here’s a look at the people and groups trying to influence races in House District 118 and House District 121.
House District 118
This South Side district is one of the few House seats that both parties see as flippable, and has drawn tremendous spending from both Republicans and Democrats in the past month.
According to a campaign finance report covering Sept. 27 through Oct. 26, Lujan, the incumbent Republican, raised about $1.5 million, spent $920,000 and had $246,000 on hand.
Carranza, meanwhile, raised $1.6 million, spent $1.5 million and reported $190,000 on hand, according to her report covering the same span.
She received an astounding $1.2 million in help from Leaders We Deserve PAC — a national group aligned with gun control activist David Hogg that’s focused on electing young candidates.
Among Lujan’s biggest contributions was $500,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a tort reform group that just got a big infusion of cash from Elon Musk , and $250,000 from the pro-business group Associated Republicans of Texas.
School voucher advocates, who Lujan sided with last session, also played a big role: Abbott chipped in $100,000 worth of in-kind help and San Antonio-based school voucher activist James Leininger gave $10,000.
Lujan received $100,000 from Phelan, the embattled House speaker, and numerous contributions from national conservative leaders: $25,000 from real estate magnate Harlan Crow and $10,000 from a PAC aligned with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Carranza got $75,000 from Texans for Insurance Reform PAC and received $100,000 from the House Democratic Campaign Caucus.
House District 121
This North Side district wasn’t considered a battleground until Abbott poured money into the GOP primary to defeat state Rep. Steve Allison (R-Alamo Heights) and installed LaHood, who agrees with him on school vouchers.
Without an incumbent to defeat, Texas Democrats now see it as a seat they could flip , and have been putting resources in for Swift . But in the past month, Republicans more than tripled the Democrats’ investment, to hold a seat they once considered reliably red.
Swift raised $277,000 and spent $282,000 between Sept. 27 and Oct. 26, according to her report , and reported $24,000 on hand.
LaHood’s report covering Sept. 27 and Oct. 26 indicated he’s raised $1.2 million, spent $1.2 million and reported about $75,000 on hand, according to his most recent report .
Swift’s biggest contributions came from state House Rep. Gina Hinojosa, who chairs the Democrats’ campaign arm, and Save Our Schools Now PAC, which supports candidates who oppose vouchers. She also loaned her campaign $35,000 in the past month.
For LaHood, deep-pocketed conservative groups that have pushed the House right jumped into this race after he advanced from the primary and signed on to help them replace House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) with a more conservative alternative.
Texas United for a Conservative Majority contributed $125,000 to LaHood on the most recent report, and the Musk-backed Texans for Lawsuit Reform gave him $245,000.
Casino gambling
One strange last-minute addition to the most recent campaign finance reports is an infusion of cash for Carranza, a Democrat, and LaHood, a Republican, from groups aligned with the casino industry.
A PAC aligned with Las Vegas Sands casino , which wants to legalize casino gambling in Texas, gave Carranza $25,000 for her race against Lujan. Last session Lujan voted against a proposal to put a state constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling out to voters.
Meanwhile another group, Texas Defense PAC , funded by Las Vegas Sands’ majority shareholder Miriam Adelson, gave LaHood roughly $350,000 worth of in-kind campaign help in the past month.
At a recent debate, Swift said she was comfortable legalizing casino gambling if its what voters want. LaHood was less certain, saying he hasn’t really looked into it.
“The question about legalizing gambling is first and foremost a question of the voters: Do the citizens of Texas want it?” LaHood said. “The second question is… if they do want it, what are the costs and benefits?”