The GOP primary runoffs for the Texas House are rife with cryptic, last-minute money moves that hint of the party establishment’s desire to purge renegades...
, dumped $2.5 million into state races in the latest reporting period. Beneficiaries of more than 70% of that dough couldn’t be determined because of vagaries of the state reporting system that cause delays.
Still, the Dunn-Wilks PAC is working against many House hopefuls favored by Abbott and Phelan. Previously, the two West Texas oilmen poured money into efforts directed by gadfly Michael Quinn Sullivan’s former group, Empower Texans, which set out to purge the Legislature of “Republicans in name only,” or RINOs.Bob’s Breakdown: Texas ‘RINO hunt’ resumes as groups tied to Koch brothers try to sway GOP primaries Sullivan has since receded, and Stickland, the former Tarrant County legislator, and Austin GOP consultant Luke Macias appear to be leading the party-purging charge. Of the $680,000 of Defend Texas Liberty PAC’s late spending that could be deciphered, 71% or nearly a half-million went to three North Texas candidates:David Lowe of North Richland Hills, who’s trying to upset Fort Worth Rep. Stephanie KlickFormer pastor Nate Schatzline of Keller, who’s running against former Southlake Mayor Laura Hill for the open seat vacated by Rep. Matt Krause, $165,500., $148,000. Younger is battling Flower Mound council member Ben Bumgarner, who has Abbott’s backing for a seat being given up by Rep. Tan Parker.Protect and Serve Texas PAC, which didn’t jump into legislative races until the closing days of last year, may be on the verge of rescuing Klick, the highest-ranking member of Phelan’s leadership team who may be in danger. The PAC has unleashed a barrage of attacks on Lowe, who a decade ago reserved internet domain names, including a few prurient ones, such as findsomesex.com. Lowe has said he bought and sold websites in bulk. Three clergy defended him, dismissing the incident as a youthful misjudgment before he recommitted his life to Jesus. They and Lowe have accused Klick supporters of a desperate slime job.Ellen Troxclair, once the sole conservative voice on the Austin City Council, is battling for a redrawn Hill Country House seat with a police officer, Justin Berry. Troxclair is helping fund “Conservatives for Law Enforcement & Border Security.” It’s primarily bankrolled by Texas House Freedom Caucus member Mayes Middleton, a Wallisville Republican running for state Senate. The law enforcement-sounding group, though it has virtually no online presence, has mailed slate cards endorsing Troxclair and three GOP hopefuls for statewide office. “That’s about as Astroturf a PAC as you can get, in that it doesn’t really exist,” said Rice’s Jones. “Except for probably a file with the Secretary of State, it does not exist. Hey, that’s a nice name. It combines law enforcement and border security, two hot-button issues for Republican primary voters.” Earlier this week, Troxclair’s campaign cut a $58,000 check to the PAC. That was tit-for-tat, but an upping of the police-front group shell game: Her opponent Berry has given $25,200 to the Protect and Serve Texas PAC, which in turn has pumped out about $68,500 worth of polls, digital messaging, direct mail and road signs for him.This fall, Republicans are confident they’ll maintain their two-decade-long control of the House. Currently, the 150-member chamber has 84 Republicans and 64 Democrats, with two vacancies. When next year’s session begins, the GOP also is likely to hold at least 19 of the 31-member Senate’s seats. Tactics in intraparty fights keep evolving, and boundaries on negative campaigning have all but disappeared. After a generation of dominance at the Texas Capitol, Republicans conduct primaries that no longer are buttoned up and largely predetermined. Instead, they’re often brawls, extending into the May runoffs. “It’s unprecedented the amount of negativity in Republican primaries and now the runoffs,” said retiring San Antonio GOP Rep. Lyle Larson, a centrist. “They’re viciously attacking a lot of the incumbents … that everybody gave strong accolades [to] as being one of the most conservative legislatures in the country,” he said. “Now, you have these far-right groups coming in attacking them because they didn’t meet the purity index.” With very low voter participation, runoffs can be unpredictable. Anger among the most dedicated of GOP voters is palpable, according to some Republican consultants, who say conditions are ripe for a surge like the tea party in 2010.Abbott and Phelan have mutual goals. Both want to elect lawmakers who’ll stay within the white lines of respectable conservatism. In March, Abbott survived challenges from two staunchly conservative challengers. Phelan is still chapped by what he saw as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s attempts to bully him in last year’s legislative gatherings, especially the Patrick-directed interventions by former President Donald Trump. Disrupters include Patrick, Cruz and the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which is said to be largely directed by Stickland. Rice’s Jones said of Cruz, “I’m not sure what his angle is. In the past, he’s tended to stay out of Texas politics, by and large, except for specific races. This cycle, maybe he’s working to burnish, to maintain his status within the Republican Party. He seems to be going on a vouchers kick. One thing a lot of the candidates he’s supporting have in common is that they’re pretty vocal voucher supporters.” Cruz considers giving parents options “the most important civil rights issue of the 21st century,” said spokesman Sam Cooper. “He doesn’t hesitate to endorse and won’t hesitate to support candidates in primaries that will fight for school choice across Texas,” Cooper said. After a meteoric rise in the tea party movement, Stickland spent four terms in the House tormenting, in succession, the leadership teams of former GOP Speakers Joe Straus and Dennis Bonnen. Stickland did not respond to a request for more details on which House hopefuls the PAC is financially backing. Between Feb. 20 and Saturday, the Defend Texas Liberty PAC gave $100,000 to Attorney General Ken Paxton and $10,000 each to Railroad Commission Chairman Wayne Christian and land commissioner hopeful Dawn Buckingham. Among the nine Texas House runoff contests where Defend Texas Liberty has declared it’s playing, the PAC gave more than $483,000 to Lowe, Schatzline and Younger. It’s trying to unseat College Station GOP Rep. Kyle Kacal, but only gave his challenger Ben Bius $13,700. It also opposes GOP Rep. Glenn Rogers of Graford in Palo Pinto County. However, Defend Texas Liberty appears to have given no help during the reporting period to Rogers’ opponent Mike Olcott of Aledo, a former cancer researcher who in 2005 grew so concerned about illegal immigration that he joined the Minutemen, a volunteer group conducting night patrols at the Texas-Mexico border. Last month, though, JoAnn Wilks, wife of Farris Wilks, directly gave Olcott $75,000. Cruz has endorsed Olcott, though former Gov. Rick Perry and Abbott are backing Rogers.A new but smaller PAC, Conservative Action for Texas, is backing some of the same anti-establishment House hopefuls. Bankrolled by, it has given nearly $36,000 to Olcott, $52,500 to Younger, $40,000 to Lowe, $31,500 to Schatzline and $23,500 to Bius. Madison, Wisc., GOP political consultant J.R. Johnson, who appears to have connections to the new PAC, did not respond to questions about Moyer’s motivations and the PAC’s mission.Phelan, who spent nearly $900,000 in the period to help 10 House runoff hopefuls; Associated Republicans of Texas, a nearly half-century-old group started by former U.S. Sen. John Tower, which scattered about $1 million on House hopefuls backed by Phelan and Abbott; Texans for Responsible Government, Hill Country resident Michael Porter’s 18-month-old PAC that aligns with Abbott and poured out nearly a half-million on the party establishment’s slate of House hopefuls; Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a heavy hitter that gave at least $407,500 to Abbott-backed House candidates but $50,000 to the Cruz-backed Troxclair;Texas House Republican Caucus PAC, which dropped $140,000 on behalf of its embattled members Klick, Kacal, Rogers and Phil Stephenson of Wharton.. Bob has covered state government and politics for The Dallas Morning News since 2002. Earlier, he was a statehouse reporter for three newspapers, including the Dallas Times Herald. A fifth-generation Texan, Bob earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He covers Gov. Greg Abbott, the state budget and CPS and foster care.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Cooler temps, rain chances ahead for Central TexasThe next couple of days will be heating up and more humid but at least we will stay away from record territory.
Read more »
Texas Children’s Hospital begins administering Pfizer vaccine booster to children ages 5-11 FridayTexas Children’s Hospital and all Texas Children’s Pediatrics practices will begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster Friday to children ages 5 to 11, a news release said.
Read more »
Texas librarians face harassment as they navigate book bansSome Texas librarians have quit as they face increased pressure from politicians, parents, and county and school district staff.
Read more »
Here's why tech giants want the Supreme Court to freeze Texas' social media lawTech industry groups are urging the Supreme Court to block a Texas law barring social media companies from removing posts or banning users based on political viewpoints.
Read more »
GOP runoff for Railroad commissioner asks voters, 'What is the job of a Texas oil regulator?'The Republican primary contest between challenger Sarah Stogner and incumbent Wayne Christian has been characterized by twists and turns, accusations of corruption and some light nudity.
Read more »