Big spending ratchets up as Election Day nears

Close to $40,000 in combined political expenses were expended in the past month by two candidates vying for the Republican nomination in Hays County’s Pct. 4 Commissioner’s race.

As a result, both Jimmy Skipton and Walt Smith dipped deep into their war chests as the March 6 primaries draw near.

Smith, a Dripping Springs resident who owns a consulting firm, spent $23,355 on his campaign from Feb. 5 to Feb. 26, according to a campaign finance report filed a week before Election Day. The majority of the expenses, roughly $23,100, went toward consulting, advertising and printing purchases from Patterson and Company in Dripping Springs.