After being outraised by his Democratic primary challenger in the final quarter of 2025, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai made a comeback last month.
Campaign finance data must be reported more frequently right before an election, and reports covering Jan. 1 through Jan. 22 were due Monday for state and county candidates.
Sakai’s indicated that he’d raised $176,000 in that span — more than triple what former Mayor Ron Nirenberg raised over the same time period. Sakai spent about $200,000 and reported $483,000 on hand as of Jan. 22.
By comparison, Nirenberg raised $52,000 between Jan. 1 and Jan. 22, spent $86,000 and reported $347,000 on hand.
Sakai’s haul includes $52,000 worth of in-kind advertising from Carmen and Joe Gamez, owners of Gamez Law Firm, to sponsor billboard ads on his behalf. He also received a $75,000 contribution from the Texas Association of Realtors PAC.
Nirenberg’s includes a pledged contribution of $25,000 from local philanthropist Harvey Najim, who already loaned the campaign $100,000 and contributed a $35,000 check on the last reports.
Unlike city offices, there are no contribution limits for county candidates, so individual donors are free to give as much as they want to a single candidate.
Early voting for the March 3 primary runs Feb. 17 through Feb. 27. Candidates will report their fundraising once more in this race, eight days out from the election.
