It’s time for the week that was in Texas politics with Patrick Svitek, political correspondent for The Texas Tribune.
Democratic Senate candidate MJ Hegar announced she has raised $13.5 million during the third quarter of 2020.
“[It’s] a big number on its own, but it’s an especially huge improvement for her,” Svitek said. “It’s nearly eight times what she raised in her previous best quarter.”
John Cornyn, the Republican incumbent Senator, ended the second quarter with $14 million in the bank.
Svitek said Hegar’s primary runoff win in July helped her reach her fundraising total. Hegar’s campaign said she raised $1 million the week after the runoff.
Also, a federal appeals court this week allowed Texas to proceed with eliminating straight-ticket voting, starting with the upcoming November election. A legal challenge to the law against straight-ticket voting had been upheld by a trial court last week. Plaintiffs had argued that ending straight-ticket voting would lead to longer lines at polling places, increasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
And, the Texas secretary of state’s office announced this week that Texas has 16.6 million registered voters as of September – a 1.5 million voter increase over 2016. But voter registration has still been hampered by the pandemic.
“The pace of new registrations has certainly slowed over the past several months due to the pandemic and the challenges that has created,” Svitek said.
