A Week Before Primary Election, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Has a 10-fold Fundraising Advantage Over His GOP Challenger

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick raised more than $570,000 in the past month, more than 10 times the money brought in by his Republican challenger Scott Milder.But Patrick's spending shows he is not solely relying on his clout as one of the most outspoken lieutenant governors in recent history. Despite his lead in money, endorsements and name recognition as the leader of the Senate since 2015, Patrick shelled out about $1.5 million on advertising, including $51,000 for Facebook ads, between Jan. 26 and Feb. 24. Patrick has relied mostly on advertising to connect with voters during the campaign, scheduling only a few public appearances. Some of this was went to joint advertising efforts with Republican Sens. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown and Kelly Hancock of North Richland Hills and on voter surveys and TV airtime for Sens. Joan Huffman of Houston and Bob Hall of Edgewood. Hall, who is battling Republican primary opponent Rep. Cindy Burkett of Sunnyvale, received the most most out of Patrick's campaign coffers, including $200,000 for television ads.   Continue reading...