At-Large 3 race tests how money matters
The two candidates vying to win the City Council At-Large 3 seat came close in vote totals in the November election, despite lopsided campaign spending.
Richard Cantu and Twila Carter won 22% and 20.7% of the Nov. 7 vote in Harris County, respectively. Carter had around 12 times the political expenditures as of Oct. 30, totaling $147,659.67, while Cantu had only $12,961.93, Harris County’s campaign finance report electronic filing system reported.
The candidates also disclosed their political contribution balances in their Oct. 30 finance reports, which aren’t as far apart compared to their expenditures. Carter had $56,402.10 in contributions remaining, while Cantu reported having $30,081.63, the county’s filing system showed.
According to the Oct. 30 finance filings, Cantu reported having $5,794 in political donations, while Carter had a total of $3,515. The donations reported in the October report are from Oct. 5 to Oct. 28.
The candidates’ July 17 finance filings were much more distant as Carter reported $160,485 in donations and Cantu had a total of $43,623. The donations reported were received from January to July.
Carter, a former executive for the Astros and the Astros Foundation, held different events at Minute Maid Park and raised $200,000 in February during her campaign kickoff.
Fundraising, handing out questionnaires, gaining endorsements, attending community meetings and other events will be the focus of the campaign ahead of the runoff, Carter said Wednesday.
“It’s not as crazy as it was leading up to the November election,” Carter said. “We’re keeping the same thing going, just at a little different pace. We’re making sure we’re doing the right thing.”
Cantu, a board trustee for the Harris County Department of Education, held his campaign kickoff at a Mexican restaurant, Fiesta En Guadalajara, in April. He also hosted multiple fundraising events across Houston, according to his campaign’s website and Facebook page.
The Chronicle contacted Cantu’s campaign but did not receive a response. He and Carter are scheduled to attend a community runoff discussion Thursday at Bethany Baptist Church.
Bob Stein, a political science professor at Rice University, said there’s a lot more to campaigns than the money candidates spend. Due to voter turnout being nowhere near expected with only 17% of all registered voters in the county casting their ballots Nov. 7, he said name recognition comes into play. Cantu having worked with the county could have played a significant role in the election’s results.
‘To me, money in most races don’t matter,” Stein said.
Cantu’s and Carter’s political expenditures are indicative of what kind of campaigns they have, which aren’t influenced by TV advertisements, mailers, phone banks or door knockers, according to Stein. Instead, their campaigns are “labor intensive” and more influenced by word of mouth and networks, he said.
“Both candidates had those networks, but I thought Cantu had a much better network due to him being involved in county government for a long time,” Stein said. “This is what happens when you have a very low (voter) turnout.”
In hindsight, Stein said Cantu and Carter were better off spending their time getting endorsements from critical groups — firefighters, policemen and civic associations — than raising money for their campaigns.
“These are groups who know people and who vote,” he said.
Opposed to spending more money to bring out potential voters, Stein said he expects Cantu and Carter to go back to their bases ahead of the runoff election.