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On the Records: Senate Runoff Spending Topped $45 Million

All those campaign ads weren't cheap. The Republican race to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has drawn more than $45 million in spending. Outside groups contributed heavily to the final tally.

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Ahead of Tuesday's Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff between Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz, a full picture of the amount of money that has been spent on the race is coming into focus.

Between the rivals' campaigns and a cadre of outside groups, more than $45 million has been spent trying to convince Texas Republicans which candidate is the best choice for the open U.S. Senate Seat, campaign finance records show.

Both Dewhurst and Cruz raised nearly $8 million each. Factoring in loan repayments, Dewhurst supplemented his war chest with $19 million of his own money, $8 million of which he has invested since July 12. Cruz contributed more than $1 million of his money to his campaign, including $250,000 he added in earlier this month. 

The campaign of former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who came in third in the May primary, spent $7.1 million, of which $3.4 million came from his own bank account.

Spending from outside groups, which has become an issue in the race, made up nearly a third of the total spending on the race, with two Super PACs — the pro-Cruz Club for Growth and the pro-Dewhurst Texas Conservatives Fund — far outspending several others that weighed in on the race.

 David DewhurstTed Cruz
Total Raised (as of 7/11) $7,783,421 $7,919,690
Total Spent (as of 7/11) $18,801,096 $7,265,380
Last Reported Cash on Hand (as of 7/11) $107,343 $1,452,297
Total Raised (pre-runoff reports, 7/12-7/25) $315,100 $533,976
Personal Loans to Campaign (as of 7/11) $16,500,000 $1,030,000
Personal Loans to Campaign (pre-runoff reports, 7/12-7/25) $8,000,000 $250,000
Loan Repayments (as of 7/11) -$5,363,437 -$235,000
Total Loans to Campaign $19,136,563 $1,045,000
Super PACs Spending In Favor $546,745 $1,824,242
Super PACs Spending In Opposition $4,971,435 $5,511,602


Shefali Luthra assisted in the gathering of data from pre-runoff reports.

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2012 elections Campaign finance David Dewhurst Ted Cruz