Data App: How Much Texas Candidates Paid Per Vote
For the amount of money he spent in Tuesday's primary, Farouk Shami could have purchased each of his 87,268 voters, say, haircuts for about six months — or, perhaps, a high-end model CHI, his signature hair straightener.
The Houston Democrat and hair-care executive spent $135 per voter, records show, more than any other candidate on Tuesday's primary election ballot — and, by far, the most of any losing candidate.
By contrast, Railroad Commission candidate David Porter, who surprised political observers by knocking off Republican incumbent Victor Carrillo, essentially paid 5 cents for each vote cast in support of his campaign. And that isn't even the cheapest ballot box bang for the buck: Bill Burton, running in the Demcratic primary for land commissioner, lost narrowly to Hector Uribe despite spending only 2 cents per vote — and even though Uribe himself only spent 7 cents per vote.
Here's a list of the top 10 per-vote spenders:
| Candidate | Race | Party | Votes | Pct | Result | Per voter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farouk Shami | Governor | D | 87,268 | 12.8% | Loss | $135 |
| Loretta A. Haldenwang | House | D | 1,044 | 55.7% | Win | $115 |
| Van Taylor | House | R | 4,581 | 33.5% | Runoff | $98 |
| Susan Curling | House | R | 3,061 | 20.0% | Runoff | $83 |
| Tara Rios Ybarra | House | D | 6,708 | 43.1% | Loss | $72 |
| Martin Basaldua | House | R | 1,954 | 12.8% | Loss | $72 |
| Sandra Rodriguez | House | D | 5,093 | 41.9% | Loss | $66 |
| Sergio Munoz Jr. | House | D | 7,071 | 58.1% | Win | $58 |
| Norma P. Chavez | House | D | 3,988 | 46.2% | Runoff | $56 |
| Wayne S. Richard | House | R | 3,485 | 25.5% | Loss | $53 |
Here's the bottom 10 — the candidates who spent the least per voter.
| Candidate | Race | Party | Votes | Pct | Result | Per voter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Mercer | SBOE | R | 75,369 | 69.1% | Win | $0.18 |
| Sharon K. Russell | Senate | R | 15,517 | 29.1% | Loss | $0.17 |
| Robert M. Bohmfalk | SBOE | D | 2,252 | 6.0% | Loss | $0.13 |
| Josiah James Ingalls | SBOE | D | 3,574 | 9.6% | Loss | $0.11 |
| Eva M. Guzman | SCOTX | R | 721,437 | 65.3% | Win | $0.11 |
| Hector Uribe | Land | D | 292,486 | 51.7% | Win | $0.07 |
| Don McLeroy | SBOE | R | 57,528 | 49.6% | Loss | $0.05 |
| George M. Clayton | SBOE | R | 37,533 | 51.8% | Win | $0.05 |
| David J. Porter | Railroad | R | 732,885 | 60.7% | Win | $0.05 |
| Bill Burton | Land | D | 273,034 | 48.3% | Loss | $0.02 |
You can explore all the campaigns' per-voter spending with our latest data application.
