Tom Craddick

AUSTIN -- Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick has poured more than $200,000 into the effort to keep his Republican majority, but resurgent Democrats were fighting back hard in hotly contested races across the state, an Associated Press analysis shows.

Craddick, who's fighting to keep his speakership, remains the money leader in the Legislature, sitting on a hefty $3 million.

Meanwhile, Democrats who have struggled for years to reclaim real power in the state were raking in respectable sums in a handful of key races and giving Craddick a run for his money.

"Any Republican who thinks their Democratic opponent won't be well funded in a hotly contested race needs to rethink their strategy," said Republican consultant Eric Bearse, who works for Craddick among other clients.

Craddick's long-shot opponent, Democrat Bill Dingus, raised almost as much as his veteran opponent during the three-month reporting period that ended Sept. 25. While reporting less than $40,000 in the bank, Dingus raised more than $126,000 during the period, compared with Craddick's near $178,000.

Campaign finance reports were due to the Texas Ethics Commission by midnight Monday. The AP analyzed fundraising figures that had been reported to the Texas Ethics Commission by Tuesday afternoon.

Craddick is not expected to lose the Midland seat he's held since 1969, but his coveted role as speaker depends on how many of his allies win their Nov. 4 elections.

But Dingus's surprising strength has forced the powerful House leader to focus on his home district, where both have been running TV ads.

In another surprise, Democrats hold a significant money edge in races for at least three open seats previously held by Republicans.

In suburban Houston, for instance, Democrat Kevin Murphy has piled up more cash than Republican opponent Randy Weber, who reported $0 on hand at the end of the reporting period.

And in the Central Texas seat left open when 18-year-veteran Republican Rep. Dianne White Delisi announced her retirement, Democrat Sam Murphey has more than double the cash of Republican candidate Ralph Sheffield going into the final stretch of the campaign season.

"Democratic candidates are taking fundraising more seriously than I've ever seen them take it in the past," said Democratic consultant Jeff Crosby, who works for Dingus and others. "And they're getting better results than I've ever seen them in the past."

One reason may be voters' annoyance at a "national Republican brand that has been tarnished," Bearse said.

Among the other fundraising developments in key races:

n Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, has far more cash on hand -- $1.4 million n than his opponent, Democrat Wendy Davis, who had $435,966 in the bank. But Davis raised more than Brimer for the period, with nearly $288,000 compared with Brimer's $217,000.

• Houston-area Democrat Sherrie Matula was crushing incumbent Republican Rep. John Davis in both fundraising and cash-on-hand figures. She had a $136,934 balance compared with Davis' $62,046.

• In another Houston-area race, being vacated by a Republican, Democrat Joel Redmond had $90,446 while Republican Ken Legler had $14,276.

• At least one Democratic incumbent, Dan Barrett of Fort Worth, was lagging in the money race, behind Republican Mark Shelton, who had quadruple Barrett's bottom line.

• In one of the most watched state House races, Democratic challenger Chris Turner has eclipsed Republican incumbent Bill Zedler by more than $50,000 in the Fort Worth district.

• Longtime Republican Rep. Tony Goolsby, chairman of the House Administration Committee, raised less money than his Democratic challenger, Richardson educator Carol Kent. Goolsby pulled in $88,366 and had $281,080 in the bank while Kent raised $176,169 and maintained a balance of $177,692.

• Chris Bell, the former congressman who ran against Republican Gov. Rick Perry in 2006 is leading the crowded field of candidates to fill the seat vacated by longtime Houston Republican Sen. Kyle Janek, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Bell had $457,750 in the bank. But, Joan Huffman, one of four Republicans in the contest, spent $1.6 million long before the recent reporting period.

The race operates under special election rules -- meaning candidates of both parties can run at the same time.