A look at House District 94 candidates’ war chests going into early voting

As the race between Republican Cheryl Bean and Democrat Katie O’Brien Duzan to secure Texas House District 94 heats up, the two candidates have raised and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Political action committees, residents from outside of the district and other politicians have all contributed to the campaigns in the past few months, according to the candidates’ latest campaign finance reports.

The reports cover the period between July 1 and Sept. 24. In that time frame, Bean outraised and outspent O’Brien Duzan. 

Related article: Candidates on both sides vie for historically Republican Texas House District 94 seat

Texas House District 94 covers parts of west and central Arlington, Hurst and parts of east Fort Worth. State Rep. Tony Tinderholt has held the seat for 12 years but is not running for reelection, instead running for the Precinct 2 seat on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.

Bean’s overall contributions were boosted through in-kind contributions, including canvassing and polling conducted by two PACs.

The Texans for a Conservative Majority PAC, largely funded by West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, and the Texas Conservative Majority PAC, largely funded by Pennsylvania Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, both dropped thousands into the race.

Bean’s largest in-kind contribution from the Texas Conservative Majority PAC came on the final day of the filing period, among a larger influx to GOP candidates across the state.

Of Bean’s total monetary contributions, roughly $10,200 came from individuals. The rest, roughly $193,750, came from PACs, groups or other politicians’ campaigns.

O’Brien Duzan’s monetary contributions were somewhat split, with individuals contributing roughly $104,000, while PACs, groups or other politicians’ campaigns donated roughly $94,000.

According to the filings, the Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund has donated in-kind consulting costs to O’Brien Duzan, while the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee has paid her staff’s salary and benefits since at least July.

The Texas Blueprint PAC, largely funded by Democratic donor Simone Otus Coxe, paid for polling for her campaign as well.

The race has also drawn interest outside the county and even the state.

In June, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which focuses on lower-ballot races for fundraising, labeled House District 94 as a target race. It is the only race in Tarrant County listed. 

O’Brien Duzan’s non-PAC monetary contributions largely came from cities outside of Tarrant, though individuals in the county made the most donations. Bean’s contributions were mostly from the county, but she had fewer individual donations and less money from those overall than O’Brien Duzan.

Each candidate did carry a hefty amount into the final month of campaigning. O’Brien Duzan had roughly $138,000 going into the late stretch, and Bean held roughly $89,000.

Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at [email protected].

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