Texas lawmakers raised a combined $13 million in the two weeks before a fundraising blackout period ahead of the start of the 89th regular session. Newly elected House Speaker Dustin Burrows led all legislators with $752,000 raised, while other top fundraisers included Sens. Bryan Hughes and Joan Huffman. This pre-session fundraising frenzy highlights the significant financial resources required for effective campaigning in Texas.
AUSTIN – Few things focus the mind of a politician, and political donors, more than a fundraising deadline. For three decades, a blackout period around the Legislature’s regular session has barred Texas lawmakers from raising political money while they tackle the state’s business in the Capitol.Dec.
14 was the last day to raise campaign cash for the session that began last week, and the state’s 181 lawmakers responded to the deadline with gusto, raising a combined $13 million in two weeks — a number that jumps closer to $17 million when fundraising by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, is added.The dash for cash in the two weeks preceding the session moratorium awes even the most veteran of political insiders — particularly as the skyrocketing cost of running a campaign requires officials to raise ever higher piles of money.“Hell, it’s crazy,” longtime lobbyist Bill Miller, of Austin-based Hillco Partners, said of the biennial pre-session fundraising sprints. “There are multiple fundraisers every day, and they’re all over the place. There are so many fundraisers you can’t even count them.” One of the most visible examples was the parade of lawmakers and lobbyists into the Austin Club, an exclusive gathering spot near the Capitol where political fundraisers stacked up in one- and two-hour time slots — nearly 60 private events in the first two weeks of December.At the events, lawmakers wait in a designated room while lobbyists and other invited donors swing by with checks — sometimes getting a minute or two with the lawmaker, sometimes just dropping a check on a table at the door before moving on to the next one, according to several lawmakers and lobbyists who attended the events. The fundraising frenzy at the private Austin Club between Election Day and the session blackout period is just the tip of the iceberg. In-person and online fundraisers across the state had checks pouring into campaign coffers right up to midnight on the last day before the blackout.analyzed semiannual financial disclosures filed last week to discover how much money was raised in the first two weeks of December. The analysis included totals from state legislators’ candidate/officeholder accounts. For those whose campaigns raised no money last month,Newly chosen House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a five-term Lubbock Republican, led all state legislators by raising $752,000 in December as he was making his run for the speaker’s gavel. Forty members of the Legislature raked in six figures over the 14 days before the deadline — 23 senators and 17 representatives. Six legislators surpassed a quarter-million dollars, and two exceeded a half-million. After Burrows, the top fundraisers in December were Sens. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who raised $550,000, and Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who collected $381,000 through her Texans for Joan Huffman committee. Both have powerful positions in the Senate, with Hughes chairing the Jurisprudence and State Affairs committees, and Huffman leading the Finance Committee.Nine North Texas lawmakers raised six figures in December, led by Flower Mound Republican Sen. Tan Parker’s nearly $263,000. Other top fundraisers from the region included $233,000 by Sens. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury; $207,000 by Phil King, R-Weatherford; $195,000 by Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills; and $177,000 by Angela Paxton, R-McKinney. In the House, Reps. David Cook, R-Mansfield, raised $178,000; Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, $154,000; Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, $126,000; and Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, $103,000. Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas and Rep. Ramon Romero Jr. of Fort Worth were the area’s top Democratic fundraisers, each collecting more than $90,000.The 50 House and Senate members representing parts of North Texas collectively raised $3.1 million in that two-week span. Top donors to North Texas legislators included business executives and political action committees. Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, Cottonwood Financial executive Trevor Ahlberg and Texas Realtors PAC collectively contributed more than $900,000 to political candidates and causes across the state in December, cutting 29 five-figure checks. State law requires legislators to stop accepting donations one month before the regular session starts, with fundraising allowed to resume three weeks after it ends. Lawmakers can fundraise during 30-day special sessions, which can be called by the governor between regular sessions. Lawmakers and political insiders say the race to raise cash in the days before a blackout is critical to their ability to be effective during the 140-day session.“It’s expensive to be down here,” said Geren, a 20-year lawmaker who spends up to $1 million to win reelection every two years
TEXAS POLITICS FUNDRAISING LEGISLATURE CAMPAIGN FINANCE HOUSE SPEAKER DUSTIN BURROWS
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