Businessman Chris Ekstrom had a lot of cash to spend on his campaign to replace U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) as the candidates filed their finance reports last week.

On Friday, candidates running for federal office were required to file their financial reports with the Federal Election Commission. Based on the reports, two candidates ran away from the rest of the pack in terms of receipts, while others reported both underwhelming and promising fundraising totals.

Ekstrom led the field with $530,816 in receipts, which included a $500,000 loan to his campaign. Josh Winegarner trailed Ekstrom with $$344,565 in receipts, with no loans reported. Rounding out the top five in fundraising were Amarillo City Councilwoman Elaine Hays at $87,056, Wichita County Commissioner Lee Harvey at $60,850, and former White House physician Ronny Jackson at $30,406. Vance Snider narrowly trailed Jackson, reporting $27,216 in receipts.

The totals speak to the heavy campaign spending recently seen in the area, with signs and ads for some of the leading candidates popping up all over the Texas Panhandle.

Voters will decide this primary on March 3, 2020.