Expert predicts O'Rourke's PAC campaign promise, donation numbers make win impossible
AUSTIN — Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz raised $2 million between July and September for his re-election campaign, slightly more than his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso.
O’Rourke raised $1.7 million during the same period and has $2.8 million on hand heading into the next quarter, a $1 million bump for his campaign bank account since June. Cruz has nearly $6.4 million on hand.
While O'Rourke surprised political experts by outraising incumbent Cruz during his first reporting period of the campaign — collecting nearly $2.1 million to Cruz’s $1.6 million — the same experts say the latest numbers are more realistic indicators of what to expect from his campaign moving forward.
"At this stage in the game, O’Rourke and his team like having support they can tangibly point to and credibly claim that they’re making strides to connect to people and put infrastructure in place, but in the long term, collecting donations on a small scale will continue to produce moderate but not outstanding campaign figures," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
Read more: http://www.reporternews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2017/10/11/orourke-raises-1-7-million-latest-quarter-cruzs-2-million/754133001/