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The conservative political action committee Texas Economic Fund has raised more than $1.3 million over the last month to support Rolando Pablos in San Antonio’s mayoral runoff.
Pablos, who has run as a fiscal conservative and served as secretary of state under Gov. Greg Abbott, has said he wants to move away from party labels as he runs for the nonpartisan mayor’s seat.
The Texas Economic Fund has spent more than $600,000 in the runoff race.
Political action committees can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on candidates and are prohibited from coordinating directly with candidates.
Notable donors to Pablos’ campaign efforts through the PAC are former Frost Bank President Pat Frost, Morgan’s Wonderland creator Gordon V Hartman — who contributed more than $100,000 — and Conservative America PAC, which contributed $500,000 and has supported Republican candidates around the country.
Pablos himself has raised $332,000 and spent $275,000 in the last month.
Some of that money came from the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association PAC, which has endorsed Pablos; former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd; Bexar County Republican Women; and U.S. Rep. August Pfluger.
Former Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and two-time Democratic congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones has raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars and spent more than $130,000 for the runoff.
Notable donors include former mayoral candidate Beto Altamirano, who has not endorsed Ortiz Jones publicly; former San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger, who has endorsed her; the campaign for Congressman Joaquin Castro, who has also endorsed her; the PAC for former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi; and Flip Texas Blue PAC.
Altamirano did not respond to TPR’s request for comment.
Ortiz Jones has also been backed by the national Democratic Fields of Change PAC, which has raised $138,000 and spent $160,000 in the runoff so far. The local Act4SA Action PAC, tied to the police reform organization Act4SA, has spent $25,000 to support Ortiz Jones’ candidacy.
The San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association donated $1,000 to both candidates, after publicly announcing it would not issue an endorsement, in a signal that the fire union was open to working with either potential victor.
Early voting for the runoff election, which also includes several council districts, ends on Tuesday.
Runoff election day is Saturday, June 7.
