Political dollars gush in Texas

AUSTIN — The 2016 presidential election — well on its way to clocking in as the most expensive in history — is oozing with political cash from Texas.

Donors from Texas, long known as a vaunted piggy bank for White House hopefuls, last year plowed at least $88 million into the presidential race, according to a San Antonio Express-News analysis of federal campaign finance and IRS filings.

That includes money injected directly into about two-dozen individual campaigns as well as funds given to roughly 30 allied groups that can raise and spend unlimited sums to support their candidate of choice.

Big money has dominated the narrative so far.

More than half of the Texas donations — nearly $57 million — have been given to unlimited-spending groups like super

PACs, spawned by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, or to so-called 527 political groups, which are regulated by the IRS. The outside groups have already cashed around 85 individual six- or seven-figure checks from some of the wealthiest Republicans in the state.

The donor figures also provide another window into the presidential race: When it comes to the money race, Texas is, indeed, Ted Cruz country.

Cruz, the home state U.S. senator rallying the most conservative wing of Texas’ GOP, has easily raised more from Texas than anyone else in the race, counting a total of $31.6 million to his campaign and seven super PACs supporting his bid. About $14 million came from individual donors to his campaign, while the rest came from large sums contributed to super PACs.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush, whose Texas fundraising machine has been propelled in part by the luster of the family’s network, has raised about $21.2 million from Texans for his campaign and affiliated super PAC, Right to Rise USA. The bulk, $17.7 million, went to his PAC.

The big prize

Texas politicos aren’t surprised that Cruz and Bush would secure the largest hauls from the state, totaling almost $53 million combined.

Cruz, anointed with front-runner status, is a tea party favorite in prime Red State territory, and Bush has a well-heeled machine with deep Texas roots.

Bill Miller, an Austin lobbyist who consults with donors for state races, said most who give money in an election want to experience some kind of bond with the candidate they support.

“Especially large contributors, they just don’t want to give into a void, they want a connection to the campaign,” Miller said. “They want a feeling.”

The candidates are beginning to turn their attention to Texas, the big prize of the 11 Super Tuesday primaries on Mar. 1.

And Texas has traditionally been one of the top three political fundraising states in presidential elections, bringing in more than $300 million during the 2012 cycle.

Through the end of 2015, only New York, tallying at least $92.5 million in donations to campaigns and super PACs, and California, which recorded at least $90.6 million in contributions, surpassed Texas.

GOP gets the gobs

Most of Texas’ political cash flow from the state’s urban centers. The Dallas-Fort Worth area topped the list, giving around $31 million. Houston contributed around $21.8 million, and Austin and San Antonio donated $3.6 million and $3.3 million respectively, according to federal filings.

The megadollars flowing from Texas could play a key role in shaping the outcome of the presidential race as GOP candidates jockey to court key donors whose candidates have already tanked or are on the verge.

That’s exactly what happened earlier in the race when former Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential campaign crumbled in September and some of his biggest donors, including technology entrepreneur Darwin Deason, who wrote Perry a $5 million check, flocked to Team Cruz.

Among the most prestigious big-dollar backers who could be up for grabs are those who helped Jeb Bush propel his super PAC to raise around $118 million, a total that includes eight checks of $1 million or more from Texas.

Dallas oil tycoon Ray Hunt and his wife, Nancy, are Bush’s largest Texas supporters, giving a total of $2.4 million to his super PAC.

Another potential high-profile pickup could come whenever a campaign announces it has landed the support of Dallas investor Ray Washburne, a former National Republican Committee finance chairman who was running the fundraising operation for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s failed presidential bid. Christie ended his campaign this week.

Brian Haley, an Austin-based financial adviser who was deputy national finance director for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, said Washburne’s next move could signal where establishment donors in Texas decide to place their bets.

Nearly the entire Texas haul to date — about $82 million — has gone to support a wide but narrowing field of Republican candidates:

Billionaire mogul Donald Trump, who has made a campaign mantra of largely self-fund- ing his campaign, has taken in a relatively modest $191,000 from Texans — all from individual donations to his campaign.

Neurosurgeon Ben Carson, whose campaign largely has been fueled by small donations, raised $3.3 million from Texas. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s campaign and super PAC tallied $2.9 million from Texans, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has taken in about $500,000.

Perry, the former Texas governor, netted the largest state total from any candidate who has dropped out: $13.5 million.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton raked in nearly $5 million from Texas donors, mostly from individual donors giving up to $2,700.

Her opponent, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — who has denounced the influence of super PACs — got $670,000 for his campaign from Texas. Sanders’ campaign has raised $54 million in donations of $200 or less; details for those donors are not reported to the Federal Election Commission.

Super PACs dominate

Super PACs have become a powerful force in the world of political money and in Texas make up the vast majority of donations doled out to presidential hopefuls so far — close to $57 million in all.

The largest recipient of Texasbased super PAC cash is Jeb Bush, with more than $17.7 million.

But the largest single donation went to Cruz’s network of super PACs, when he secured a total of $15 million from the West Texas fracking billionaire Wilks family. The Wilks family also gave another $250,000 to the super PAC that supported Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s failed presidential campaign.

And Houston Texans owner Bob McNair has showered super PACs supporting seven different GOP candidates with $500,000 checks

Campaign finance reformers say the practice of big donations to super PACs cuts out people who don’t have the wherewithal to give big dollars and gives outsize influence to big donors.

“If you are spending all your time helping collect million-dollar contributions, you are not hearing from the person who can’t afford to give at all,” said Larry Noble of the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center. “You’re not hearing from the person who can only give $25 or $50.”