Smitherman Campaign Has More Than $2 Million On Hand

Barry Smitherman's campaign for attorney general will report nearly $2.1 million in cash on hand in its latest campaign finance report, according to a press release.

Smitherman, currently the chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, is facing state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and state Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, in the Republican primary. Branch announced more than $4.9 million on hand last week. Paxton has yet to release his latest totals.

According to the release, in the final six months of 2013, Smitherman raised about $1.7 million. In the same period, Branch outpaced him by a relatively slim margin, reportedly raising about $1.9 million.

“Barry Smitherman’s ability to keep pace with his career politician opponents is nothing short of remarkable,” Smitherman campaign manager Jared Craighead said in a statement.

Smitherman, who started the campaign with the least money in the bank of the three candidates, had set a goal of $2 million on hand for the end of the year, according to the release.

"Even though Barry is not a career politician like his opponents, he is exceeding our fundraising goals because Texans respond to his conservative message and hard hitting plans for the Office of Attorney General, ” Craighead said.