Allred raises $4.8M in Q4, leads Cruz in cash for Texas Senate race

Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) on Wednesday announced $4.8 million in fundraising for the fourth quarter for his Senate campaign, a lower mark than incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), but one that extends a cash-on-hand fundraising lead.

Cruz brought in $5.5 million over the same period, his campaign told Fox News last week, but has just $7.3 million cash on hand to Allred’s $10 million, according to the campaigns.

The fourth quarters figures are difficult to directly compare, however, as Cruz’s reported fundraising includes totals from multiple fundraising committees.

Allred out-fundraised Cruz by nearly double in the first three quarters of 2023, bringing in $13.6 million to Cruz’s $7.7 million, according to Federal Elections Commission filings.

The Dallas congressman’s campaign said the fundraising numbers are a positive sign for the effort to unseat Cruz.

Both Allred and Cruz face March 5 primary contests that they are expected to win.

“Texas is ready to move past Ted Cruz’s culture wars and division, and with less than a year until the election, we are confident we will have the resources to send Cruz packing,” Allred campaign manager Paige Hutchinson said.

The Allred campaign received funds from more than 200,000 individual donors with an average donation of $31.62 in the fourth quarter, it said. That’s more than double the 78,000 donors the Cruz campaign attracted, with an average donation of $36.67.

Cruz campaign spokesman Nick Maddux told Fox News that their fourth quarter marks show energy to “ensure that Texas remains our nation’s conservative stronghold.”

Both Allred and Cruz significantly out-raised their third quarter marks in the last three months, with the primary election quickly approaching.

Cruz narrowly won reelection in 2018 against former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), winning by about 2.6 percent. The Cook Political Report has ranked the 2024 race as “Likely R,” but Democrats are putting pressure on Cruz as one of the party’s few targets to flip a Senate seat.

The Hill has reached out to the Cruz campaign for additional comment.