Spending on city council races in El Paso will increase by more than 75% in 2024

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — The cost of all campaign activities in El Paso City Council races has skyrocketed in 2024 compared to the last presidential election year in 2020. There were more races on the ballot this year, while overall voter turnout did decline: 254,222 or 48.66% of registered voters in the province in 2024 compared to 269,007 or 55.13% of 2020 voter turnout.

As ABC-7 has reported, overall election spending in the city of El Paso has increased year over year. According to the latest campaign finance reports available eight days after Election Day, $385,414.98 was spent by or for the six City Council races in 2024. That means the average cost per vote was $3.01 across all campaigns for the 127,778 ballots cast for the City Council campaigns from El Paso.

The four council races in 2020 saw higher participation levels and lower spending overall: 91,641 total votes in all municipal elections, for a total of $218,272.11, or $2.38 per vote.

The most expensive City Council race this year was the vacancy of the District 1 seat by Brian Kennedy, who is now in the runoff for El Paso mayor. $120,130.85 has been spent by or for the four campaigns vying for the seat, and with 28,333 votes cast, the average cost per vote there is $4.24

The most economical race this year was for District 5, currently run by Isabel Salcido. She came fifth this year in her bid to become mayor. The district’s five campaigns totaled just $23,915.93 since the start of the year, with an average cost per vote of $1.33.