Colin Allred’s fundraising for U.S. Senate race surpasses O’Rourke’s early 2018 pace

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million for his U.S. Senate campaign this quarter, surpassing Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 first quarter sum of $6.7 million. BY MATTHEW CHOI WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised over $9.5 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in this year’s first quarter, surpassing the campaign of his rival Sen. Ted Cruz. Notably, Allred has also raised more money than Beto O’Rourke did by this point in his own history-making run against Cruz in 2018. O’Rourke raised over $6.7 million in the first quarter of 2018 against Cruz. The El Paso Democrat’s haul that quarter was the biggest of any Democratic Senate candidate in the country. Cruz raised over $6.9 million from his official campaign this past quarter, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Still, the conservative senator remains a formidable fundraiser, bringing in over $9.7 million across his fundraising entities. That includes money he has raised for other candidates. O’Rourke broke new ground for Democrats in Texas with his meteoric rise. His team had to establish new campaign infrastructure where a Democrat hadn’t won state-wide office in over 20 years. Alumni of O’Rourke’s campaign and other Democrats in Texas have credited O’Rourke’s...