By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews
In the race for Texas House District 67, the money gap was massive. The vote gap wasn’t.
Campaign finance reports show Republican candidates backed by hundreds of thousands of dollars, while Democratic campaigns operated with only a few thousand. But the results tell a more complicated story.
District 67 covers parts of Collin County, including McKinney, Allen, Frisco, and Plano.
Republican Primary: Jeff Leach’s Institutional Support and High-Dollar Network
Incumbent State Rep. Jeff Leach reported extensive support from political action committees and organizations, including large in-kind contributions for campaign activities such as digital advertising, direct mail, and polling.
His reports show multiple high-value expenditures funded by outside groups, including tens of thousands of dollars directed toward voter outreach, campaign messaging, and digital advertising efforts. These types of in-kind contributions—where outside groups pay directly for campaign services—can significantly expand a campaign’s reach without appearing as traditional cash on hand in campaign accounts.
Among the contributors listed are several prominent organizations and industry-backed PACs, including Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, which funded multiple campaign-related expenditures, as well as contributions from the Texas Conservative Majority PAC, Texas Oil and Gas Association PAC, and Texas Automobile Dealers Association PAC.
The reports also identify notable individual donors. Don Wasek, owner of Buc-ee’s, contributed $10,000, one of the larger individual donations reported during the period. Additional contributions came from executives, business owners, and industry professionals across Texas.
The reports show a campaign backed by a mix of industry groups, statewide PACs, and high-dollar individual donors.
Republican Primary: Matt Thorsen’s PAC-Backed Challenge
Leach’s primary challenger, Matt Thorsen, also reported substantial financial backing, though structured differently from Leach’s.
His reports show that a significant portion of his funding came from a small number of large contributors. Most notably, Justice for Texas Victims PAC provided multiple contributions totaling more than $100,000, making it the dominant funding source in his campaign during the reporting period.
In addition, Thorsen reported a $25,000 contribution from Aulsbrook Car & Truck Wreck Injury Lawyers.
Beyond those major contributions, records show a wide range of smaller donations from individuals across Collin County, including residents in McKinney, Allen, Melissa, and surrounding communities.
Most of the campaign’s funding came from a small number of high-dollar contributors, alongside smaller donations from local residents.
Democratic Primary: Small-Dollar Donations and Limited Scale
On the Democratic side, campaign reports show a markedly different financial picture, with both campaigns operating at a much smaller scale.
Jordan Wheatley reported a campaign largely funded by small-dollar contributions, with most donations ranging from $10 to $100 and coming from donors in McKinney, Plano, Allen, and surrounding areas.
The campaign reported roughly $3,000 in monetary contributions, along with an additional $8,956 in in-kind services for website, logo, and branding development .
His primary opponent, Emeka Eluka, reported significantly fewer contributions overall, relying largely on personal funds and a small number of donations, along with limited support from Texas Majority PAC.
Total contributions for Eluka were under $2,000 during the reporting period .
In a response to TX3DNews, Eluka said he relied in part on personal funds.
“I had to bring in my own personal money to help in the day-to-day activities… my strategy was to spend as little as possible because it was only the primary at this point,” Eluka said.
Funding Gap: Hundreds of Thousands vs. Thousands
Across all four candidates, campaign reports show a wide gap in total money raised during the primary.
Republican candidates operated with hundreds of thousands of dollars, driven largely by PAC support and high-dollar contributions. By comparison, Democratic candidates operated with only a few thousand dollars, relying primarily on small individual donations and limited resources.
In the Republican primary, Jeff Leach received 11,955 votes and Matt Thorsen received 6,646, with 18,601 total votes cast. On the Democratic side, Jordan Wheatley received 8,793 votes and Emeka Eluka received 6,522, with 15,315 total votes cast.
Turnout differed, but not nearly to the scale of the funding gap.
What It Means
The results don’t show a direct relationship between money raised and votes received.
Matt Thorsen ran a well-funded campaign backed by large PAC contributions but still trailed Jeff Leach by more than 5,000 votes.
On the Democratic side, Jordan Wheatley operated with a fraction of that funding and received more votes than Thorsen, though in a separate primary.
Emeka Eluka, who reported minimal funding, finished with just over 6,500 votes—only slightly behind Thorsen’s total despite the gap in campaign resources.
The results show how money shapes campaigns, but not necessarily outcomes.
The contrast also stands out given the role itself. Texas House members earn $7,200 per year, yet the level of spending in these races reflects the broader influence the position holds over state policy.
