Texas Campaign Finance 2026: TEC Deadlines, No Limits, and No Extensions

Texas is big on fundraising freedom but strict on deadlines. There are no general contribution limits for most state races, but the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) enforces filing deadlines, no extensions are allowed for pre-election reports.

Candidate Filing Periods

Before you worry about campaign finance reports, you need to actually file to run:

  • Statewide/legislative races: Filing opened noon December 1, 2025 and closed noon December 19, 2025
  • Municipal races (even-year): Filing opens noon July 6, 2026 and closes noon July 17, 2026

No Contribution Limits (Mostly)

Texas does not impose general contribution limits for state legislative or executive races. Individuals, PACs, and other donors can give unlimited amounts. But there are exceptions:

  • Judicial candidates: Subject to limits under the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act (amounts vary by district population)
  • Corporate contributions to candidates: Prohibited
  • Union contributions to candidates: Prohibited
  • Cash contributions: Limited to $100 per contributor per reporting period
  • Appoint Your Treasurer First
    Before you accept a single contribution or spend a dollar, file a Campaign Treasurer Appointment (Form CTA) with the appropriate authority. No CTA on file = no legal fundraising.

2026 Filing Deadlines

  • January Semiannual (Jul–Dec 2025): January 15, 2026
  • 30-Day Pre-Primary: February 2, 2026
  • 8-Day Pre-Primary: February 23, 2026
  • July Semiannual (Jan–Jun 2026): July 15, 2026
  • 30-Day Pre-General: Early October 2026
  • 8-Day Pre-General: Late October 2026
  • No extensions. No exceptions. The TEC does not grant deadline extensions for pre-election reports under any circumstances. Plan accordingly.

State vs. Local Filing

  • State candidates: File with the Texas Ethics Commission
  • County/local candidates: File with the county clerk or elections administrator

The TEC has a helpful “When is My Report Due?” tool and separate guides for state filers and local filers.

Key Contacts

Contact the Texas Ethics Commission if you have any questions about regulations. They can help give guidance and you need to file a Treasurer Appointment before you can fundraise.

Texas Ethics Commission: (512) 463-5800
Address: 201 E. 14th Street, 10th Floor, Austin, TX 78701
Website: ethics.state.tx.us
Don’t Risk a Missed Deadline
With no extensions available, a missed pre-election deadline means automatic penalties.

Campaign Deputy can create dedicated import files to quickly import your data into TEC. This helps t to comply with your reporting requirements and reduce the time you need to manage your transaction.

Schedule a demo to see NC campaign finance in Campaign Deputy.

North Carolina Campaign Finance 2026: NCSBE Deadlines, Limits, and Filing Rules

North Carolina campaigns file with the State Board of Elections (NCSBE) and follow a reporting schedule that mixes semi-annual reports with pre-election and post-election filings. If you’re on the ballot in 2026, here’s what you need to have on your radar as a candidate, committee, or treasurer.

Candidate Filing Periods

Before you worry about campaign finance reports, you need to actually file to run:

  • Statewide/legislative races: Filing opened noon December 1, 2025 and closed noon December 19, 2025
  • Municipal races (even-year): Filing opens noon July 6, 2026 and closes noon July 17, 2026

Contribution Limits

  • Individuals: $6,400 per election
  • PACs: $6,400 per election
  • Corporations and unions: Cannot contribute directly to candidates
  • Primary and general are separate elections, so one individual could give up to $12,800 across the full cycle.

2026 Reporting Schedule

  • Annual Report: Due January 30, 2026 (covering all of 2025)
  • Semi-annual reports: Mid-year and year-end
  • Pre-primary report: Due before the primary election
  • Pre-general report: Due before the general election
  • Post-election reports: Due after primary and general

The schedule varies by race type (state, county, municipal). The NCSBE publishes specific schedules at ncsbe.gov.

Corporate Contributions

Like several other states, North Carolina prohibits direct corporate and union contributions to candidates. Corporations may fund PACs, but cannot donate directly to your campaign committee.

Get Help

You can contact the NCSBE as they have the final say for all campaign finance regulations. If you have a specific question, we do recommned to contact the NC first for guidance.

Email: campaign.reporting@ncsbe.gov
Phone: (919) 814-0700
Manual: Campaign Finance Manual (PDF)
File with Confidence

Campaign Deputy can create your NCSBE electronic file to comply with your reporting requirements. Integrations with common progressive tools reduce the time you need to manage your transaction.

Schedule a demo to see NC campaign finance in Campaign Deputy.

Campaign Deputy’s Project Forward Announcement

The Future of Democratic Fundraising:

Campaign Deputy Launches First Integrated CRM with AI

While 2024’s results weren’t what we had hoped for, our commitment to supporting Democratic candidates, campaigns, and causes remains unwavering. At Campaign Deputy, we’ve dedicated the past six months to an ambitious expansion of our Fundraising CRM, we’ve dubbed, Project Forward. This initiative was shaped by numerous in-depth conversations with campaign managers, treasurers, consultants, and activists who shared with us their first-hand experiences in the field. Similarly, we’ve been observing how new AI tools have reshaped how campaigns communicate and organize. 

Following months of studying how campaigns use our platform, from tracking donations to filing FEC reports it became clear that fundraising technology needed to adapt – not just with AI, but with smarter, more connected tools that reduce the modern campaign’s workload. Project Forward brings together what we’ve learned, adding features that campaigns have been asking for, including built-in accounting capabilities, a mobile app for on-the-go access, and smart assistance powered by AI to help streamline common fundraising tasks.

The message from Democratic campaigns was clear – they need technology that fits naturally into their workflow, not the other way around. With Project Forward, we’re making Campaign Deputy more useful by bringing key campaign functions into one place. Whether you’re managing a state-wide race or running for local office, these new features are designed to help you spend less time on paperwork and more time fostering genuine connections with supporters.

Project Forward: A Week of Innovation

Starting Monday, January 27th, we’re rolling out Project Forward’s features day by day, giving you time to explore and integrate each new capability into your fundraising workflow. Each release addresses specific challenges we’ve heard from campaigns, from the need for on-the-go access to expanded campaign finance tools.

Here’s what’s coming:

  • Monday – Monday unveils our mobile companion app for both Android and iOS. Take Campaign Deputy with you wherever you go – make calls, review pledges, manage event check-ins, and even schedule email broadcasts directly from your phone.
  • Tuesday – Tuesday, our new Email Provider Analytics dashboard gives you unprecedented visibility into message deliverability, while enhanced automation features let you create sophisticated workflows with mid-sequence conditional splits and search-triggered actions. Plus, seamlessly export your data to Google Sheets for collaborative analysis. Coming in Q3: customizable sending controls for precise management of email velocity, from 100 emails per hour to 2,000 per second.
  • Wednesday – Wednesday introduces Bank Connect – a first-of-its-kind feature that brings accounting capabilities directly into your fundraising platform. No more bouncing between Campaign Deputy and your accounting software. Track Cash on Hand, manage FEC reporting, handle compliance, and monitor fundraising progress all from one central hub.
  • Thursday – Thursday debuts Campaign Deputy’s first AI assistant, your AI-powered fundraising volunteer designed to streamline your campaign operations. From building custom contact lists to retrieving donor information to guiding you through Campaign Deputy’s features, this intelligent assistant helps make fundraising more efficient than ever.
  • Friday – Friday wraps up our launch week with a comprehensive overview of all these new features and practical ways to implement them in your campaign.

As we look ahead to 2025, we see incredible potential for Democratic and Progressive fundraising. Project Forward isn’t just about new features – it’s about giving campaigns the tools they need to build stronger connections with supporters and run more efficient operations. By bringing together fundraising, compliance, and accounting in one platform, enhanced by AI assistance, we’re helping campaigns focus on what matters most: their message and their community.

None of this would be possible without the trust and partnership of our users. Your feedback, suggestions, and daily interactions with Campaign Deputy have shaped every aspect of these updates. We’re grateful for your continued support and excited to see how you’ll use these new tools to power your fundraising success in 2025 and beyond.

Get Started with Project Forward

Ready to see these features in action? Current users can log in each day to explore our new mobile app, try out Bank Connect, or start working with our new AI tool. New to Campaign Deputy? Schedule a personalized demo to see how our all-in-one platform can transform your campaign’s fundraising efforts.

Book your demo call today or reach out to our team to learn more about making Project Forward work for your campaign.

Why Registering Your 10DLC Matters

Est. reading time: 10 min. Quickly engage donors directly with 10DLC, placing your outreach strategy right in their pockets. Start your journey towards reliable, impactful, and trustworthy text-based fundraising by registering for 10DLC today. Take your fundraising efforts to new heights with 10DLC.

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Gmail and Yahoo email compliance updates

Gmail and Yahoo have updated their guidance on when enforcement will begin with their new DKIM/SPF, DMARC, and spam policies.

  • Google states that “enforcement for bulk senders that don’t meet our email sender guidelines will be gradual and progressive. Starting in February 2024, senders out of compliance are likely to see light and intermittent temporary deferrals. Starting in April, that’ll change to rejections instead of deferrals, and they’ll increase the percentage of non-compliant mail over time. One-click unsubscribe should be in place by June 2024 for all commercial messages. (More details here.)
  • Yahoo is indicating that authentication requirements and low complaint rates must be met by February 2024, but that one-click unsubscribe now has an implementation deadline of June, 2024. Publishing a DMARC policy and authenticating with both DKIM and SPF seems to be required as of February 2024. (More details here.)

Gmail's unannounced changes

While Gmail has announced a date for future changes, other changes have already been implemented.

  • Domains with invalid SPF/DKIM are rejected. If you switch hosting providers this prevents a common mistake.
  • Spam rates above 1% downgrade domain reputation. This used to be over 5% before your domain was downgraded.
  • New Bounce Code 421 4.7.28 Our system has detected an unusual rate of unsolicited mail originating from your IP address. To protect our users from spam, mail sent from your IP address has been temporarily rate limited. Please visit https://support.google.com/mail/?p=UnsolicitedRateLimitError to review our Bulk Email Senders Guidelines.
  • New Bounce Code 421 4.7.28 Gmail has detected an unusual rate of unsolicited mail containing one of your URL domains. To protect our users from spam, mail with the URL has been temporarily rate limited. Please visit https://support.google.com/mail/?p=UnsolicitedRateLimitError to review our Bulk Email Senders Guidelines. – gsmtp
  • 421 4.7.28 Gmail has detected an unusual rate of unsolicited mail originating from your SPF domain. To protect our users from spam, mail sent from your domain has been temporarily rate limited. Please visit https://support.google.com/mail/?p=UnsolicitedRateLimitError to review our Bulk Email Senders Guidelines. – gsmtp
  • 421-4.7.28 Gmail has detected an unusual rate of unsolicited mail originating from your DKIM domain. To protect our users from spam, mail sent from your domain has been temporarily rate limited. Please visit https://support.google.com/mail/?p=UnsolicitedRateLimitError to review our Bulk Email Senders Guidelines. – gsmtp

As an Email Service Provider (ESP), these bounce codes are helpful for us to quick troubleshoot any issue. We also brand all of our sending details which means that the URLs, DKIM, and SPF domains are all unique per a account.

For Campaign Deputy accounts, there is no change needed for any of these changes as we have been compliant with the DKIM/SPF and one-click unsubscribe requirements since 2017.  

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In the digital age, email marketing remains a crucial tool for political campaigns to reach, engage, and mobilize voters. Discover key best practices to craft compelling emails that cut through the noise, foster connections, and drive your campaign forward.

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A Guide to FEC Filing Software for Democrats

A Guide to FEC Filing Software for Democrats

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30 Political Fundraising Event Ideas for Campaigns

30 Political Fundraising Event Ideas for Campaigns - Campaign Deputy

Est. Reading Time: 13 min. Running a successful political campaign requires not only persuasive speeches and compelling policies, but also a strong financial backing. Fundraising events play a crucial role in generating the necessary funds to support a campaign. However, organizing a memorable and effective political fundraising event can be a challenging task. To help you out, here are some creative and engaging political fundraising event ideas that will captivate your donors and boost your campaign’s fundraising efforts.

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