Now down to a polarizing runoff between Democrat-backed Gina Ortiz Jones and state GOP leaders-allied Rolando Pablos, well-funded outside groups and national consultants are descending on San Antonio’s mayoral race.
The Texas Economic Fund, a PAC run by Gov. Greg Abbott’s former political director that’s already been shelling out to help Pablos, reported raising $1.35 million in the past month. So far the PAC has spent $623,000 of it on the runoff, including more than $450,000 on TV ads and direct mail attacking Jones.
Fields of Change, a national Democratic PAC that helped Jones in the first round, has been running digital ads in the runoff referencing the pro-Pablos group, saying the same mega donors “bankrolling Abbott and Trump” are trying to make San Antonio a “MAGA paradise.”
The pro-Jones PAC reported spending about $160,000 so far in the runoff.
Campaign finance reports were due Friday — offering the first and only look voters will get at money raised and spent between the general election and the June 7 runoff until after it’s over.
While a number of outside groups have been dropping in to help Jones with text messages, mailers and online ads in the final stretch, much of that spending had not been filed with the city as of Friday afternoon.
Some groups filed reports with the state on their overall spending, but it’s less clear how much has been spent on Jones’ behalf.
Mayoral candidates can only collect up to $1,000 from each individual donor each election cycle, which starts over when they make it to the runoff. For council candidates the individual contribution limit is $500 per election cycle.
That means since the May 3 election, candidates who advanced to a runoff have been juggling not only campaign events and candidate forums — but also fundraisers to restock their coffers.
Early voting for the runoff runs through June 3. Election day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 7.
Mayor’s race
Pablos’ campaign has raised $332,000 since the first round, spent $275,000 and reported $82,000 on hand. His 164-page report was filled with deep-pocketed donors who gave the maximum $1,000.
Jones’ campaign raised $248,000, spent $133,000 and reported $137,000 on hand. Her 528-page report was made up primarily of donations under $1,000, including many from outside of San Antonio.
Jones finished first with 27% in the first round, to Pablos’ 17%.
While Pablos needs a big shift in a short span of time to overcome that, Texas Republicans have been investing huge sums of money into races with Hispanic voter bases, and this mayor’s race is no exception.
Among the revealing details in Pablos’ report: He spent $70,000 with Axiom, a D.C.-based consulting firm that is running Attorney General Ken Paxton’s campaign against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), which is doing mailers for his campaign.
Another $80,000 went to Indiana-based Prosper Group for consulting and ads, and $15,000 went to D.C.-based FP1 strategies, best known for its work on GOP federal races.
Earlier this month Pablos also promoted results of a push-poll that his campaign planned to use to redefine Jones, which it appears to have paid about $30,000 for Oklahoma-based Pulse Decision Science to produce.
Much of Jones’ campaign spending went toward staff salaries for canvassers and voter outreach. About $60,000 of it went to D.C.-based The Pivot Group Inc. for mailers.
Outside groups pile in
Jones’ campaign is getting help from an array of different outside groups, including Planned Parenthood and AFSCME.
Local progressive group Act4SA Action PAC spent $25,000 on canvassing for her — and the Texas Economic Fund is already running ads attacking her for the groups’ past police reform work.
The progressive Texas Organizing Project appears to have spent about $25,000. Annie’s List, which helps Democratic women in Texas, has been attacking Pablos. The Texas Democratic Party is sending mailers that call Pablos “Greg Abbott’s biggest fan.”
Pablos, meanwhile, is getting big help from the San Antonio Police Officers Association, which is running a pair of TV ads. One talks about Pablos’ support for local law enforcement, while the other is about Jones’ out-of-state donations.
The union SAPOA spent about $150,000 on the TV ads and another $60,000 on billboards. In a separate filing with the state, it reported about $861,000 still on hand.
District 1
Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who raised more than most mayoral hopefuls in the first round, brought in another $72,000 for the runoff.
She spent $30,000 and reported about $55,000 on hand.
Kaur took 49% of the vote, falling just short of the majority support needed to win outright, and advanced to a runoff with Northside neighborhood leader Patty Gibbons, who took 18%.
Kaur has supported a host of major downtown redevelopment efforts like the new Missions’ Minor League Baseball stadium, Project Marvel and a transit corridor down San Pedro Avenue — drawing a long list of challengers who opposed the projects, and some business-backed supporters who want to see them happen.
She’s also receiving help from Futuro San Antonio, an education-focused PAC with ties to the charter school movement. Kaur owns an education consulting company focused on in-district charters.
Gibbons has raised very little for the race, bringing in about $5,000 for the runoff and loaning her campaign $25,000 this week.
District 6
The race to represent Westside District 6 came down to a runoff between two progressive activists, causing some interesting political maneuvering as they line up support for the second round.
As of Friday evening, no campaign finance report was available for labor organizer Kelly Ann Gonzalez.
Interestingly, she got help from the business-backed Better SA, which at one point worked against a 2023 ballot proposition aimed at police reform which Gonzalez had helped organize.
At a recent debate, Gonzalez sought distance from Proposition A’s more controversial elements. Better SA has now spent about $27,000 on her behalf, and is running digital ads saying she will “improve public safety, support local businesses and prioritize public education.”
Ric Galvan, a special projects manager in the District 5 council office, raised $21,500, spent $11,000 and reported $14,000 on hand.
He’s receiving help from the AFSCME, the union representing city employees. Both candidates have labor connections, but the endorsement comes after Gonzalez recently worked for the local AFSCME on a major policy project at City Hall.
Gonzalez and Galvan finished neck-and-neck in the first round, with 19.7% and 19.4% support, respectively.
District 8
In the race to represent some of the city’s wealthiest enclaves, Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, a former chief of staff to Mayor Ron Nirenberg, massively outraised conservative attorney Paula McGee.
In the first round, Gonzalez took 40% of the vote in the first round to McGee’s 22%.
Since then, Meza Gonzalez has raised about $82,000, spent $35,000 and reported about $60,000 on hand.
She’s getting help from the Texas Realtors PAC, Planned Parenthood and SAPOA.
McGee raised about $30,000, spent $52,000 and reported about $14,000 on hand. She loaned her campaign another $25,000 this week, bringing her personal investment in the race to $50,000.
McGee is paying roughly $40,000 to CSG, Inc., a firm owned by local strategist Kelton Morgan, which is doing direct mail and digital ads on her behalf.
District 9
In the District 9 runoff, Misty Spears is pulling in more money and has a long list of deep-pocketed groups spending on her behalf.
She’s leaned into the GOP supporters who want to see a conservative district in their party’s hands, while her opponent, Angi Taylor Aramburu, turned down backing from the Democratic Party and seems to be receiving less help.
After finishing first by about 400 votes, Spears took a step back from public campaign events during the runoff. She brought in about $47,000 across multiple big fundraisers, spent $22,000 and reported $44,000 on hand.
Taylor Aramburu raised $32,000, spent $21,000 and reported $16,000 on hand.
Among the outside groups spending in this race, business-backed groups San Antonio Equity Alliance and Better SA put in a total of about $50,000 for Spears. The police and fire unions are also helping her and the Texas Realtors PAC is running digital ads on her behalf.
