Over $1 Million Floods San Antonio Races as Election Near

More than $1 million was spent in the final weeks before the November 3 election to support first-term state Rep. Marc LaHood in Texas House District 121. The funds arrived in the Northside district, which has been reliably red since 1981. LaHood’s campaign launched new attacks against his challenger, Zack Dunn, as the voting deadline approached.

Campaign finance reports covering the period from September 25 to October 24 show that LaHood raised $1.1 million. This sum includes approximately $200,000 from a political action committee aligned with Las Vegas Sands Corporation. The company seeks to legalize casino gambling in Texas. Additional large contributions came from trial lawyers whom LaHood assisted during the previous legislative session.

Dunn, a 33-year-old prosecutor, raised close to $400,000 in the same timeframe. Of that total, $225,000 came from Blueprint Texas PAC, a group aligned with former state Sen. Wendy Davis. Dunn joins a long line of Democratic candidates who have attempted to flip this seat by appealing to moderate Republicans in the area.

The district, formerly held by Joe Straus, includes wealthy San Antonio suburbs that have historically supported business-centric Republicans. Colt Osburn, Dunn’s campaign manager, stated that this cycle could be a breaking point for those voters. He noted that even if all registered Democrats vote for his side, his campaign would still lose by about 5 percent. Osburn said he is receiving calls from residents who voted Republican for years but can no longer support the party’s direction.

Nearby, the National Republican Congressional Committee purchased ads to support Brandon Herrera in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. The committee is working to protect the GOP’s House majority. Herrera, a 30-year-old gun content creator, became the nominee after pushing then-Rep. Tony Gonzales to a primary runoff and then winning the nomination after Gonzales resigned.

The district, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, had not been competitive since redistricting following the 2020 Census. Last week, the Cook Political Report moved the race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. Herrera’s opponent, Katy Padilla Stout, is also receiving last-minute support. A renewable energy PAC called the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition has spent about $725,000 on TV ads and mailers attacking Herrera using clips from his YouTube channel.

Democratic strategists are preparing for a potential wave election but acknowledge a history of difficulty in pulling new races online in the final stretch. A strategist with the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition said internal polling showed that many voters doubted Herrera had actually said certain controversial things on social media unless they saw the video evidence.

The NRCC did not respond to a request for comment. Both the state and federal races will conclude with votes cast on November 3.