Runoff money: what Austin's six runoff candidates had left, and the Dec. 4 report that comes next
Going into the last week before Nov. 3, cash on hand ranged from about $2,500 to more than $100,000. One challenger also reported $275,000 in loans. The next look at the money arrives eight days before the runoff.
A runoff is a second, shorter campaign, and it has to be paid for. The six candidates in Austin's Dec. 12 council runoffs start it with very different amounts of money, according to the last campaign finance reports they filed before the Nov. 3 election. Voters get their next look on Friday, Dec. 4.
All figures below come from each candidate's sworn "8th day before election" report, which covers Sept. 25 through Oct. 24, as we first reported Oct. 28. "Cash" is the balance the campaign reported on Oct. 24, before the final 10 days of spending. Each link goes to the filing in the city's document system.
District 1 (open seat)
- Amber Goodwin: raised $23,951, spent $34,890, had $27,266.
- Misael Ramos: raised $20,497, spent $16,937, had $13,993, plus a $10,000 outstanding loan.
District 3
- Council Member José Velásquez: raised $4,306, spent $47,065, had $58,954.
- Neha Shah: raised $2,344 and had $2,528.
District 5
- Council Member Ryan Alter: raised $10,702, spent $68,271, had $101,268.
- David Weinberg: raised $7,194, spent $80,099, had $98,826, and reported $275,000 in outstanding loans.
What our records add
The incumbents' longer history. Our campaign finance pages track sitting council members' reports back several years. Velásquez's District 3 page shows his cash on hand rising from $32,127 at the end of 2025 to $96,870 by Sept. 24, 2026, before the fall spending. Alter's District 5 page shows $115,064 at the end of 2025 and $158,456 on Sept. 24. Our pages cover sitting members only, so the challengers are not included. We report these totals for context, not as an explanation of any vote.
Outside committees. Several political committees named runoff candidates on their own October filings. The Austin Board of Realtors PAC listed support for Velásquez, Alter and Goodwin. Equity Action listed Goodwin and Velásquez. Austin United PAC listed support for Weinberg, Ramos and Shah and opposition to Alter and Velásquez. Committees file on their own schedules, so their runoff spending may not appear until their next reports.
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Limits will move. Voters approved Prop F on Tuesday, which moves the date the city sets its campaign contribution and spending limits to Jan. 1, KUT reported. That change affects future campaigns, not this runoff.
The next report
Texas law requires a candidate in a runoff to file a report no later than the eighth day before the runoff, under Section 254.064 of the Election Code. For Dec. 12 that is Friday, Dec. 4. City candidates file with the City Clerk, and the reports are posted in the city's online document system, where the 8-day reports linked above appear. The runoff report picks up where the 8-day report left off, so it will show the final days of the first round and the start of the runoff.
What's next
- Dec. 4: Runoff reports due.
- Nov. 30 to Dec. 8: Early voting. Dec. 12: Runoff. How to vote.
- Jan. 15: Semiannual reports, covering the rest of the year.