In the midst of the high-profile John Cornyn-Ken Paxton Senate runoff, significant political activity is unfolding in Texas’s U.S. House runoffs, where outside groups are investing millions to influence the outcome.
With less than two weeks remaining until the May 26 runoff, various political action committees, including some backed by untraceable funds, have poured nearly $6 million into seven crucial congressional races since the March 3 primary.
These groups encompass familiar names such as the centrist Blue Dog PAC and the conservative Club for Growth, alongside well-funded PACs advocating for the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence sectors. Notably, a shadowy organization seemingly aligned with the GOP is backing a candidate with a history of antisemitic remarks in a San Antonio-area Democratic primary, indicating a strategic move to support a potentially weaker opponent.
Voters across cities like Abilene, Dallas, Houston, and Lubbock are inundated with advertisements, mailers, and text messages from these organizations. Although overall spending on House ads across television, digital, and radio platforms has decreased compared to previous election cycles, the proportion of funding from external sources has surged dramatically, according to AdImpact, a firm specializing in ad tracking.
Of the nearly $4.6 million allocated for various ad platforms in Texas’s congressional runoffs, a striking 89% has originated from PACs, super PACs, and independent nonprofits. This marks a significant increase from the 29% in 2020, 50% in 2022, and 68% in the last cycle, as reported by AdImpact.
This trend can be attributed in part to the GOP’s redistricting efforts last year, which created competitive primaries by placing Democrats in overlapping districts and leading to open races in newly drawn areas without incumbents. The heightened political stakes in the House of Representatives have prompted party leaders to prioritize the selection of the most viable candidates for an election that could determine control of the closely divided chamber.
Facing limited campaign budgets, candidates are increasingly dependent on these well-financed outside groups to cut through the noise created by the more expensive Senate and attorney general runoffs dominating the airwaves.
The impact of outside funding is particularly pronounced in the 35th Congressional District, where a newly formed PAC seemingly connected to the GOP is backing a fringe candidate in the Democratic runoff. This district is one of five targeted by the Republican redistricting plan.
Progressive sex therapist Maureen Galindo, who garnered only modest financial backing, led the Democratic primary with 29.2% of the votes. Galindo has been associated with spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories, claiming that Jews control Hollywood and referring to a “synagogue of Satan.”
Galindo is competing against Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy who finished second in the primary with 27% of the vote and enjoys support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Blue Dog PAC. Given the redistricting that favors Republicans, this runoff holds significant implications for both major parties, as the district is projected to have voted for Donald Trump by a 10-point margin in 2024 and has a majority-Hispanic population, raising hopes for Democrats to regain lost ground among Hispanic voters.
Outside financial support for Galindo began on May 6, when a mysterious entity named Lead Left PAC invested over $40,000 in pro-Galindo mailers emphasizing her progressive stance. This PAC, which registered in late April, will disclose its donors only after the runoff. However, its website’s metadata revealed connections to a Republican fundraising platform.
Lead Left PAC has since committed an additional $80,000 to ad buys, raising its total expenditure to over $340,000, according to AdImpact.
“This has now become an all-out arms race,” Garcia remarked. “Republicans are frightened for me to make it out of the runoff.”
In response to growing Democratic concerns regarding Galindo’s comments and perceived Republican interference, Garcia has garnered the endorsement of Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, whose district was redrawn to encompass the one for which Garcia is running.
Galindo, for her part, expressed skepticism about Republican involvement in the spending, stating, “I don’t trust anything in the establishment political and media world.” She asserts that she is the strongest candidate for the general election and believes that the recent focus on her race, including accusations of antisemitism, has expanded her support base.
“Even after this recent smear campaign claiming I’m antisemitic for being anti-Zionist has boosted my broad support,” she added. “We know what we see WITH OUR EYES and are sick of politicians and media trying to gaslight us. Zionists are the anti-Semites.”
In addition to the suspected GOP spending in the 35th District, outside groups are investing heavily in districts considered safe, where the primary serves as the main contest.
The most expensive House runoff in Texas features two sitting members of Congress, Houston Democratic Reps. Al Green and Christian Menefee, in the 18th Congressional District. Notably, Protect Progress, a super PAC backed by the cryptocurrency industry, is the largest spender in this contest.
Protect Progress has invested $1.8 million in ads and over $350,000 in mail pieces supporting Menefee in the runoff. One of its television ads highlights Menefee’s achievements and calls for voters to “pass the torch” to the younger candidate, who is 40 years Green’s junior. Another ad features Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, who has endorsed Menefee, without mentioning cryptocurrency.
“Democrats used to be the party of the future, but lately, we’ve been running on the past — and losing,” the ad’s narrator states. “It’s time to pass the torch — and Democrat Christian Menefee is ready to continue the fight.”
In Texas’s 19th Congressional District, another significant runoff sees Lubbock agriculture lobbyist Tom Sell competing against conservative activist Abraham Enriquez, with a pro-AI super PAC emerging as the largest spender. American Mission, a Republican group linked to OpenAI’s political network advocating for light AI regulation, has allocated nearly $600,000 for a biographical ad about Sell that does not mention AI.
In contrast, the Sell campaign has spent under $200,000 on advertising, while Enriquez has invested less than $5,000.
The AI industry is also active in the 9th Congressional District through a competing group. Defending Our Values PAC, connected to an Anthropic-backed initiative favoring stricter industry regulations, has spent over $400,000 supporting Alex Mealer and opposing her GOP runoff rival, state Rep. Briscoe Cain.
This PAC has also invested over $560,000 in support of Carlos De La Cruz in the 35th District Republican runoff, running ads that highlight his Trump endorsement without mentioning AI.
In the 9th District Republican runoff, seven different conservative groups are spending to support Mealer, a Trump-backed veteran, against Cain, who has the backing of Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The Club for Growth, a powerful conservative group with substantial fundraising capabilities, has endorsed Mealer. Together, they have invested over $1.1 million to bolster her campaign and oppose Cain, employing a wide range of strategies from door-to-door outreach to advertising.
On the airwaves, Win It Back PAC has expended over $280,000 on an ad targeting Cain, criticizing him for accepting past campaign donations from developers involved in the controversial Colony Ridge project, which has faced Republican backlash for selling land to undocumented immigrants.
“Briscoe Cain said Colony Ridge represented the American Dream,” the ad’s narrator asserts against eerie visuals. “So out of touch, it’s scary.”
In total, over $650,000 has been spent on television, digital, and radio ads in the 9th District runoff, with more than 99% of that funding coming from groups supporting Mealer. Conservatives for American Excellence, a super PAC funded by prominent GOP donors that has intervened in previous Republican primaries, has contributed over $370,000 to an ad criticizing Cain as a “liberal lightweight.”
In a twist, this group has also allocated over $40,000 for pro-Sell mailings in the 19th District.
Cain, a Republican from Deer Park, has long been regarded as one of the most conservative legislators in the Texas House. However, he has faced criticism from Mealer for siding with the impeachment efforts against Paxton in 2023.
The only outside group backing Cain in the runoff is Building a Strong America, which has received all its funding from a dark money organization that is not required to disclose its donors. This group has financed more than $85,000 in anti-Mealer advertisements and digital messaging.
