Senate District 17 finances

By Crystal Hubbard | Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

As candidates heave their way to the finish line that is Nov. 4, here’s a little more fodder in the election to replace retiring state Sen. Kyle Janeck. Campaign finance forms were due on Monday, and here’s what each of the five contenders have reported:

Democrat Chris Bell reports raising $658,428.24 and spending $201,467.70. Bell reports having $457,749.54 on hand.

This past summer Republican Austen Furse moved his cash from his campaign account to the “Friends of Austen Furse” PAC. The group reports $145,550 in contributions, $90,469.84 in expenditures, and $371,044.95 on hand.

Republican Grant Harpold had to correct his October filing; his revised report states that he raised $44,078, spent $40,332.52. He has $27,252.08 on hand.

Republican Joan Huffman’s recently created PAC, Texans for Joan Huffman, holds all but $1,605 of Huffman’s available monies. The PAC, has reports $131,001.20 in contributions, $62,054.61 in expenditures, and $876,251.20 on hand. Hat tip to Instantnews Bellaire for bringing this to our attention:

Just before the reporting period ended, Huffman formed Texans for Joan Huffman, a specific-purpose political action committee, and transferred her campaign funds to the committee.

Huffman’s campaign informs Texas Watchdog that the remaining $1,605 is in Huffman’s campaign account.

Lastly, Republican Kennith Sherman reports zero contributions and a solitary expenditure–the $1,250 filing fee to the Secretary of State.

Stephanie Simmons, a Democrat, was the last candidate to enter the race and as such, has only one report on file. She reports $47,500 in contributions and $8,377 in expenditures, with $47,500 on hand.

Tim Sorrells, deputy general council at the Texas Ethics Commission says it’s rare for contributions and expenditures to total cash on hand. For example, because campaigns often record expenditures before a check has been cut, it could take an extra reporting cycle for the deduction to show. Reports aren’t balance sheets but are used to track the flow of money. So, keep that in mind if you decide to check them out for yourself.

Texas Watchdog will be reporting on who’s holding the money bags later on this week. Until then, happy numbers crunching!

(Photo: Money Hand. Photo by flickr user Neubie, used via the Creative Commons license.)