Well-Funded Ted Cruz Heads Into Super Tuesday With Plenty Of Campaign Cash

AUSTIN, TX -- As he heads into Super Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, the lone presidential candidate from Texas, can count on a considerable war chest of political donations.

In terms of individual donations, Cruz is -- predictably, given his status as a Texas senator -- ahead of the pack. His $15.5 million raised throughout the state is almost half of that for the entire Republican party, with a collective total of $28.3 million in political contributions to all candidates.

Cruz’s nearest rival in terms of cash raised from individuals is a distant second, in more ways than one. Before recently dropping out of the race after a poor campaign performance, Jeb Bush had managed to raise just $3.7 million in a state from which his brother and former U.S. President George W. Bush, hails.

The cash Cruz has raised is greater than the sum of the part among individuals. The Texas senator has wide appeal among mega-rich donors able to contribute exponentially more that what’s legally allowed for individuals through the use of Super PACS.

According to Inside Gov, the junior senator from the Lone Star State has raised more than $101 million for the 2016 election since he entered the race.

The breakdown, according to OpenSecrets.org: $54 million in individual contributions; $23 million in small, individual contributions; $31.4 million in large ones.

In Austin area, the senator’s coffers illustrate strong support among some individual donors as well. State law caps individual donations to $2,700 -- $5,400 with contributions with a spouse or as a household -- yet some donors gave more, only to have elections officials refund the balance to keep funding levels within the mandated guidelines.

The biggest individual donors, according to the Federal Elections Commission:

• Joe R. Long, a self-employed investor; Phillip Brown, owner of a local steakhouse; Shea B. Morenz, a managing partner; attorney Brad Knippa; and investor Joe Long each contributed $10,800 to Cruz’s campaign.
• Pedro Alonso of Reverse Gravity contributed $9,800 to Cruz.
• Bryan Sheffield, the CEO of Parsley Energy, gave $5,400.

Smaller donations were derived in Austin’s outlying communities, illustrated in Round Rock with two, $2,700 donations: Alison Ryan, described as a Round Rock homemaker, contributed that amount, an identical figure donated by Reese Ryan, the CEO of the Round Rock Express baseball team, gave the same amount, according to records.

Individual donations drop off after that, following a listing for a $500 pledge by Round Rock retiree John B. Gordon.

Retiree Tony Adsley, listed as a retiree in Austin, gave $25 donations to Cruz on seven separate occasions, according to the FEC tallies. Except for his multiple gives, the initial donation is indicative of the representative donation individuals have made to Cruz’s campaign.

Numerous media reports have shown that Cruz is the darling of the super-rich mega-donors, rather than from individual donors in terms of showing support with their wallets. Last summer, as Cruz waded into the presidential race, he was aided in his run with a $15 million donation from billionaire brothers Farris and Dan Wilks, who made their fortunes in the West Texas fracking boom.

The donation was record-setting, and the biggest single one for any candidate. It was bigger than any single contribution given to former candidate Jeb Bush, once seen as a formidable candidate.

In a crowded Republican field, Cruz has also secured financial support from some of the party’s biggest donors matching that amount from The Wilks family of Cisco, Texas; Bob Mercer, a hedge fund manager; Manufacturing moguls Dick and Liz Uillein; and Texas energy investor Toby Neugebauer.

With Donald Trump experiencing a string of primary election victories as the Republican front-runner, Cruz will have to marshall those resources as candidates go into Super Tuesday. That’s even more important in delegate-rich Texas.

Trump’s self-funding through the use of his personal wealth heightens the importance for Cruz to win Texas, especially with Marco Rubio nipping at his heels at ever primary turn.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day.