HOUSTON - It's the race everyone's watching: Beto vs. Cruz.
The polls have it closer than most people expect. Just the thought of Texas maybe turning blue has money pouring into the candidates campaign coffers -- millions of dollars' worth.
From January 2017 to March of this year, Sen. Ted Cruz collected more than $5 million. Congressman Beto O'Rourke scored a lot more, nearly $8 million. FEC data tells us most of that money is coming from Houston.
For Cruz, the cash is coming from these key zip codes: 77019, 77024 and 77056. They're home to neighborhoods like River Oaks, the Villages and Tanglewood. But get this: folks in River Oaks actually gave more to the Democrat. O'Rourke brought in twice as much there. In West University, he raked in more than $150,000.
So who's forking out all this cash for candidates? Cruz gets most of his money from people in real estate and oil and gas. Employees from Lockheed Martin, Woodforest Financial and Goldman Sachs just a few of the top contributors for the senator.
O'Rourke counts on lawyers and those in education to fund his campaign. Employees at Rice University and the University of Texas are several of O'Rourke's top contributors.
Out-of-state money is fueling both campaigns, but feeding one a lot more than the other. Only 30 percent of O'Rourke's donations are from out of sate. Cruz is attracting 47 percent of his donations from donors he'll never represent.
With just a few months until Election Day, both campaigns have millions left to spend to try and earn your vote.