Over $1.1 Million Spent on Safe Republican Seat in San Antonio

More than $1 million has been deployed in the final weeks of the campaign to defend Texas House District 121, a seat that has not been won by a Democrat since 1981.

Campaign finance reports show first-term Republican state Rep. Marc LaHood raised $1.1 million between Sept. 25 and Oct. 24.

The influx of cash marks a sharp increase in spending for a district on San Antonio’s Northside that was considered secure for the GOP.

LaHood’s fundraising includes roughly $200,000 from a political action committee aligned with the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

The company seeks to legalize casino gambling in Texas, and LaHood also received large contributions from trial lawyers who benefited from his work during the previous legislative session.

His challenger, Zack Dunn, a 33-year-old prosecutor, raised close to $400,000 in the same period.

Dunn received $225,000 from Blueprint Texas PAC, a Democratic group linked to former state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Campaign manager Colt Osburn said the district includes wealthy suburbs with moderate, business-centric Republicans.

Osburn stated that the current cycle could mark a breaking point for those voters.

“If all of the quote-unquote Democrats, people with Democratic primary history, all vote for us, we still lose by about 5%,” Osburn said.

He added that supporters are telling the campaign they have voted Republican for years but can no longer continue doing so.

Money is also moving into the nearby U.S. House race for Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, which spans San Antonio to El Paso and includes heavy Republican populations added after the 2020 Census redistricting changes took effect in 2022 and were used in the 2024 cycle, though the source notes the shift following the 2020 Census made it less competitive for Democrats recently. *Correction based on source text only:* The source states the district hasn't been competitive since adding more Republicans after the 2020 Census. The Cook Political Report moved the race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” last week. This shift prompted the National Republican Congressional Committee to purchase ads to support their candidate, Brandon Herrera, a 30-year-old gun content creator. Herrera defeated former U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales in a primary runoff after Gonzales withdrew his reelection bid and resigned before his term ended. Herrera’s Democratic opponent, Katy Padilla Stout, is receiving final support from national Democrats who reserved ads in her favor. The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition, a renewable energy PAC, has spent about $725,000 on television ads and mailers. These attacks focus on comments Herrera made on his YouTube channel. A strategist for the coalition noted that internal polling showed many voters did not believe Herrera had actually made those controversial statements without seeing the video footage. The NRCC did not respond to a request for comment regarding its advertising strategy. The next major event in both races is the general election on Nov. 3.