Two West Texas billionaires known for supporting conservative candidates and causes are backing several North Texas Republicans seeking to oust incumbents.
Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who made their fortune in oil and fracking, are behind the PAC Texans United for a Conservative Majority, which sprung up after their previous PAC, Defend Texas Liberty, raised alarms when its then-president Jonathan Stickland met with white supremacist Nick Fuentes. 四虎影院 reached out to Dunn and Wilks but did not hear back.
Stickland was of Defend Texas Liberty and the PAC's supporters called his .
The new PAC, Texans United for a Conservative Majority, so far has given at least $385,000 to North Texas candidates running for state rep seats, according to campaign finance reports filed since January.
The influence of PACs on elections isn鈥檛 new, but this group in particular stands out because of who it's supporting and why.
Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston, said the PAC isn鈥檛 just influencing with money, it鈥檚 sending a message to conservative voters.
鈥淲hen they fund these challengers to incumbent Republicans, they鈥檙e sending a signal that this is a group, these are the people who are the most conservative in the race,鈥� Rottinghaus said. 鈥淎nd for Republican primary voters, that鈥檚 really a trigger that they鈥檙e looking for.鈥�
The PAC isn鈥檛 throwing money behind just any conservative candidate, it鈥檚 backing candidates running against incumbents who supported the impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that also is pretty rare in Texas. We don鈥檛 see a lot of organizations formed around this one specific person, but that鈥檚 definitely an issue for this race,鈥� Rottinghaus said. 鈥淭his is not an organization that鈥檚 designed to be the defender for Ken Paxton, but they do a lot of that work, and that鈥檚 really become a kind of calling card for a lot of these PACs that are pushing in the same direction.鈥�
Among the recipients of the PAC鈥檚 contributions is Katrina Pierson, a former campaign spokesperson for President Donald Trump. Pierson is challenging incumbent Justin Holland for House District 33. The most recent report filed February 5 shows the PAC gave her $50,000.
The PAC also gave $50,000 to David Lowe, who鈥檚 running against State Rep. Stephanie Klick for House District 91. The in 2022.
Other recipients include Andy Hopper, who鈥檚 competing with Elaine Hays to unseat Lynn Stucky in House District 64. The PAC gave his campaign $100,000, making Hopper the largest recipient of the group鈥檚 donations.
Shelley Luther, who made headlines during the pandemic when she reopened her salon during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, is vying for a seat in House District 62 against incumbent Reggie Smith. She received $50,000 from the PAC.
The PAC鈥檚 other contributions went to Mitch Little who鈥檚 running for House District 65 and received $50,000; Barry Wernick who received $25,000 and is running for House District 108 against incumbent Rep. Morgan Meyer, and Cheryl Bean who鈥檚 running for House District 97 and received $10,000.
四虎影院 reached out to several candidates asking if they had any concerns about the new PAC given its connection to the previous PAC, Defend Texas Liberty, but only heard back from one person.
Wernick responded in an email stating that billionaire Tim Dunn is the chairman of the Christian Advisory Board of the Israel Allies Foundation, a faith-based group that advocates for Israel.
As for the PAC鈥檚 other leader, Farris Wilks, Wernick wrote:
鈥淲ilks took a risk as an Orthodox Jew, providing the initial funding for the Daily Wire,鈥� the email reads. 鈥淚 accepted support from them; I didn鈥檛 take money from a rogue employee.鈥�
The Daily Wire is an American conservative news outlet founded in part by political commentator Ben Shapiro.
Wernick added his reason for running is because his opponent 鈥済rew the state budget鈥� and that this would end up costing Texans.
鈥淗is donors are connected to those who want the border crisis to persist and want to litter Texas with casinos,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淎re you covering the millions involved in those stories?鈥�
Recently, the that the state鈥檚 GOP leaders passed a resolution that 鈥渢he party will not associate with antisemites.鈥�
This comes after a similar resolution failed in December, the Tribune reported.
If voters are concerned about who鈥檚 influencing an election, Rottinghaus has some advice. He said voters should follow the money.
鈥淔or people concerned about their being too much money in politics or some individuals having an outside say in it, that鈥檚 something that they can check鈥here are all kinds of public records that allow that to happen,鈥� he said. 鈥淯nderstanding the influence that money could have on politics is one thing and then I think the second is understanding where that influence specifically is coming from.鈥�
Got a tip? Email Stella M. Ch谩vez at schavez@kera.org. You can follow Stella on Twitter .
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