I finally got around to looking at the 30 day out finance reports for the two major parties in Harris County. And as expected, the Harris County Democratic Party is well funded while the Harris County Republican Party is, shall we say, not.
| Harris County Political Party 30 day Campaign Finance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | ||
| Raised | $ 231,904.11 | $ 2,770.00 | |
| Spent | $ 105,552.32 | $ 1,240.00 | |
| Cash on Hand 9/24 | $ 161,360.27 | $ 1,760.05 | |
| Period | (7/1/20 – 9/24/20) | (8/3/20 – 9/24/20) | |
So, if you are one of the ones asking why there isn’t much activity from the HCRP via traditional communication avenues, I think you have your answer. Note the different reporting periods – that reflects the date that Keith Nielsen took over as chair of the HCRP.
Those numbers are from the County Executive Committee reports required by the state and do not include Federal reports. They are just as lopsided but there is one very interesting entry on the HCRP’s report filed yesterday.
| BILL GATES | 10230 NE POINTS DR SUITE 200 KIRKLAND, Washington 98033 |
GATES FOUNDATION / CO-CHAIRMAN | CONTRIBUTION | 09/29/2020 | 5000.00 | 5000.00 |
|---|
$5,000 from Bill Gates? Huh. Who’d a thunk it?
If you are a Republican in Harris County, you’d better be out there doing non-traditional campaigning if you want your candidates to have a prayer.
In Shoreacres, we had a golf cart Trump parade!
This is what James Arkin and Elena Schneider wrote on Politico: “Every time Trump angers them, Democrats donate $5. Every time Republicans are angered, they write something on Facebook.”
Arkin and Schneider note that in the Senate races, Republicans are being swamped by a ‘green tsunami’ that is threatening to wipe out the Republican Senate majority.
Hey Howie, have you seen the lines? Most of those are probably Dems. And all those $5 donations. Never thought I’d see it but Biden might get those elusive 38 electoral college votes.
I am mystified how Boat Parades, Golf Cart Parades, Facebook Postings, Campaign Buttons or Lawn Signs accomplish either of the following:
1. Sell that prospective voter who either doesn’t know you or worse doesn’t like you that he/she should vote for your candidate.
2. Turnout the voters, which is strictly a local ground game. The loyalist from both sides will show up. It is those unsold or middle-ground folks that still win the elections.
The GOP has not had to work for an election in a long time. I think they will mostly prevail in Texas this cycle, but going forward it is hard to see them holding on to power without a better ground game.
Appreciate the info. My only problem with this article is thinking that Trump parades are somehow useful. They were fine a couple of months ago but the time will be better spent knocking on doors or phone banking especially for down ballot candidates. There are plenty of people that will go vote on the president and leave. It’s our lower ballot people that desperately need help.