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GOVT 2305 - Sinegal - Fall 2025: Local Campaign Information

Campaign Guidelines

Approved Resources

  • Books from academic publishers, peer-reviewed journal articles, and reports from state or local government agencies.
  • Websites that end in edu or gov.
  • Articles from The Texas Tribune, Austin American Statesman, or other local and reputable news sources. 
  • State or local television stations such as, KVUE, KXAN, etc.
  • Transparency USA

Campaign Funds

"Unknown" by Todd Wiseman / Antony Vance Clicks

Position Campaign Cost
State Senate $162,000 (average rounded to nearest thousand) 2
State House $400,000 to $550,000 1
Texas Supreme Court $74,000 (average rounded to nearest thousand) 2
Court of Criminal Appeals $3000 (average rounded to nearest thousand) 2
State Board of Education $17,000 (average rounded to nearest thousand) 2
Mayor of Buda (use for average cities) $39-$2967.90 (range adjusted for inflation)7
Mayor of Houston $15 million - $20 million 3
Travis County Treasurer $16,900-$104,000 (range adjusted for inflation)4
Travis County Judge $34,765.86-$157,057.02 (range adjusted for inflation)8
Travis County Commissioner $0-$85,818.96 (range adjusted for inflation)8
Justice of the Peace $2200 (average rounded adjusted for inflation)5
Attorney General of Texas (Ken Paxton) $17,460,4846

1 Range from “Hey, Texplainer: How much does it cost to run for office in Texas?”. The Texas Tribune, 2017, https://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/10/hey-texplainer-how-much-does-it-cost-run-office-texas/.

2 Averages calculated from “Here’s how much Texas candidates spent per vote in the November elections." The Texas Tribune, 2017, https://www.texastribune.org/2017/03/01/heres-how-much-texas-candidates-spent-vote-general-election/.

3 "How Much Does It Cost To Be The Mayor Of Houston?". KTRH Local Houston and Texas News, 2023, https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/houston-texas-news/content/2023-11-01-how-much-does-it-cost-to-be-the-mayor-of-houston/.

4 "County treasurer faces big challenge - Ramey Ko has $80,000 to use in bid to unseat Dolores Ortega Carter." Austin American-Statesman, 2014, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004.

5 "Candidates file campaign reports." Mount Pleasant Tribune, 2014, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004.

6 "Ken Paxton: Attorney General of Texas." TransparencyUSA, 2022, https://www.transparencyusa.org/tx/candidate/ken-paxton?cycle=2022-election-cycle.

7 "Campaign money flowing in." HaysFreePress, 2014, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=tih&AN=94189207&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=austin.

8 "GOP challenger's spending far outstrips county judge's."  Austin American-Statesman, 2002, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004.

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