U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, raised $1.5 million in the first quarter as he embarked on his second reelection bid, according to his campaign.

Cruz is running for a third term in 2024 after his close race against Beto O’Rourke in 2018, which saw the Democrat set fundraising records. This time, the contest is not seen as competitive as it was then, and Cruz has not yet drawn a serious challenger.

Cruz raised $1,548,935 across his reelection campaign and two affiliated committees, according to numbers first shared with The Texas Tribune on Friday. Saturday is the deadline for members of Congress to report their first-quarter campaign finances to the Federal Election Commission.

Cruz’s campaign said his reelection effort received over 31,000 donations in the first quarter, with 97% being $100 or less and the average amount being $33.31.

“Texans know they have a tireless advocate in Washington in Sen. Ted Cruz who works every day to be the Lone Star State’s stalwart defender of freedom and liberty,” Cruz spokesperson Steve Guest said in a statement.

Cruz’s campaign did not volunteer how much cash on hand he has for the 2024 election. His campaign committee had a balance of $3.4 million at the end of last year.

The most commonly mentioned Democrat who could run against Cruz is U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas. He had $2 million cash on hand at the end of 2022.

Allred has not publicly confirmed that he is considering challenging Cruz but has said in interviews that he wants to play a role in unseating the senator. When O’Rourke ran against Cruz, he officially began his campaign at the end of March in the off-year.

This article was written by PATRICK SVITEK of The Texas Tribune.  The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.  This article originally appeared at:https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/14/ted-cruz-campaign-fundraising-million/