Dem McDonald Raises $309,000 For Texas 10 Race Against McCaul

By Greg Giroux

Texas Democratic businessman Jack McDonald is touting a fast early start in fundraising as he readies his 2010 campaign against Republican Rep. Michael McCaul in the 10th District in and around Austin.

McDonald's campaign announced Wednesday that it had raised nearly $309,000 since it organized an "exploratory" campaign with the Federal Election Commission about five weeks ago.

A detailed accounting of McDonald's campaign receipts and expenditures is due April 15, when all congressional candidates have to file reports outlining their campaign finance activity for the first three months of this year.

McCaul was first elected in 2004 in the 10th, a Republican-leaning district that includes part of Austin and stretches east to encompass suburbs of Houston. McCaul in 2008 defeated Democratic lawyer Larry Joe Doherty by 11 percentage points, 54 percent to 43 percent. That outcome nearly matched the 55 percent to 44 percent margin by which John McCain defeated Barack Obama in the 10th.