State Representative John Smithee has outraised his Democratic challenger in recent reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
According to the reports filed on Monday, the Republican incumbent, Smithee, reported $15,250 in contributions during the reporting period running through the first six months of 2018. Smithee's campaign reports that his largest contributions were a pair of $2,500 donations from Centurylink, Inc. Employers PAC and the Texas Association of Realtors PAC, respectively.
The Republican incumbent also reported $17,619.07 in campaign expenditures from his campaign account. Notable expenditures include a $1,500 expenditure to Tamme Aureli for preparation of campaign reports, credit card payments to Chase-Cardmember Service and CitiBank, travel payments to Southwest Airlines, and expenditures to Linda Colwell for an apartment in Austin. Smithee also reported donating to Senator John Cornyn's campaign.
Meanwhile, Smithee's lone November opponent, retired teacher Mike Purcell, reported running his campaign on a much smaller budget. The Democratic challenger reported $4,783 in contributions. Notable contributions to Purcell's campaign included a $2,500 contribution from the Potter-Randall Democratic Club, and smaller contributions from Amarillo College regent Patrick Miller, former Amarillo ISD trustee James Allen and a contribution from the Texas AFL-CIO.
For his expenses, Purcell reported $490 in unitemized expenditures. These expenditures fell under rules by the Texas Ethics Commission allowing candidates to leave expenses unitemized, if the expenses fall under $100.
Overall, Smithee reported retaining $305,563.80 on hand, while Purcell reported having $4,736.02 on hand.
Both candidates will have other finance reports due closer to the general election. Voters will decide this race in November.
John Smithee, Mike Purcell
Photos by Smithee Law Firm, Purcell Campaign