SAN ANTONIO – The opportunity to go after the first open San Antonio mayor’s seat since 2009 has drawn a wide pool of applicants.
However, a local political consultant told KSAT that they’ll likely need deep pockets to rise above the rest.
As of Wednesday, 17 people had announced plans to run for mayor in the May 3, 2025, election. The candidates include four current or former council members, a former Texas Secretary of State, a former congressional candidate and a tech entrepreneur.
A councilman who would have been the 18th candidate, John Courage (D9), dropped out on Monday despite being the first to announce a mayoral bid in late January.
Between the packed field, inflation, a growing city, potential high-profile ballot measures that could command attention, and Fiesta happening at the same time, Kelton Morgan said the mayoral election could have some record-breaking spending.
“I think you’re really creeping up on half a million-plus to buy a ticket to the runoff,” the president and CEO of Campaign Services Group told KSAT.
Morgan, who at this point is not working for any mayoral candidates, said that much money would buy “a lot of advertising.”
“A lot of just good paid voter contact,” Morgan said. “Digital advertising, direct mail, TV ads — if candidates decide to go that route. All of those things cost money and cost a lot of money. And in a field that could see anywhere from 120,000 to 160,000 people voting, it all adds up."
Going to the head-to-head competition of a June 7 runoff would require an even larger fundraising and spending push, Morgan said — “close to $1 million a piece.”
“I think between $1.25 million and $1.5 million to be truly competitive,” Morgan said of the total cost. “You’re going to have a lot of people say, ‘Oh, well I don’t need that. I have this. I have ideas. (I’m) a councilperson. I have all these other things.’ But really, in the end, that doesn’t necessarily add up."
His estimate is higher than what he believed back in January, when he told KSAT “maybe $350,000″ could be enough to get someone to a runoff with “a very quick” $500,000 or $600,000 needed for the resulting two-way race.
Morgan attributed his changed estimate to the number of candidates and “the dynamics we’re seeing play out.”
Raising that much money could prove difficult.
San Antonio’s campaign finance rules limit individual donors to giving up to $1,000 to a mayoral candidate per election cycle. A deep candidate pool could spread the donor pool thin.
Morgan said an ability to bring in outside money will be a “clear and significant competitive advantage.”
“Whether that money comes out of your own pocket, whether that money is raised from a network that includes Austin, that includes other places from around the country, being able to raise more than just the money that is traditionally available here in San Antonio is going to be key,” Morgan said.
Morgan also thinks a candidate will need to have at least six figures worth of cash on hand by the time they file their next campaign finance reports on Jan. 15, 2025, to be competitive.
None of the candidates who filed semi-annual reports in July had more than $61,000 cash on hand. Some of them showed early signs of spending money.
Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), for example, only had $9,000 at the end of June, but his reports showed he had spent nearly $57,000 in the first half of the year.
Morgan does not believe all 17 candidates will file for a place on the ballot.
While Courage cited his age and health in his decision to drop out of the race, the political consultant said money will be the primary driver of whether the rest decide to file for a place on the ballot before the Feb. 14 deadline.
“If you can’t afford to do the things that you need to do, what’s the point of staying in the race, you know?” Morgan said.
More coverage of the San Antonio mayoral race in 2025 on KSAT: