Rich Suitor Jilted:

January 11, 2007

Voters Rebuked Texas’ Biggest PAC

By the time of the November 2006 election, Texas’ biggest political action committee —Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR)—had spent $3,890,350 to influence the outcome. These expenditures tripled what it spent in 1996.

TLR’s Burgeoning Political Spending

Election
Cycle
TLR PAC
Contributions
PAC
Ranking
1996
$1.3 million
3
1998
$1.2 million
5
2000
$1.4 million
5
2002
$2.4 million
4
2004
$3.1 million
1
2006*
$3.9 million*
?
TOTAL:
$13.3 million
*Just to eve of November election.

TLR made two small contributions totaling $1,225 to multi-candidate Republican PACs. Meanwhile it gave more than $3.8 million to individual state candidates. Losing candidates accounted for 71 percent of TLR’s money. TLR also gave Republicans 70 percent of its money (down a hair from 73 percent in 1996).

Senator Frank Madla (D-San Antonio) single-handedly doubled the Democrats’ share of TLR’s money from the 15 percent they would have received without Madla to 30 percent they received with him. TLR gave Madla—first elected to the legislature when Richard M. Nixon was president—$713,969.

This was not enough to stop primary voters from retiring Madla, who died in a tragic house fire in November.

The special relationship between the GOP and TLR has been rewarding. Since its 1994 founding, TLR has steered millions of business dollars to Republican officials. They, in turn, have severely limited the rights of injured Texans to recover damages from businesses in state courts—just what the doctor ordered.

The vast majority of TLR’s money comes from a tiny business elite with a keen interest in limiting legal liabilities. Just eight wealthy business people gave TLR $2.3 million in the 2006 cycle, accounting for 59 percent of the $3.9 million that TLR raised.

The 26 business interests listed in the accompanying table provided 75 percent of TLR’s funds. Twenty of these big donors made their fortunes in just four liability-heavy industries: construction, finance, real estate and energy.

Republicans Got 70 Percent
of TLR’s Contributions

Party
TLR
Total In
’06 Cycle
Share
Number of
Recipients
Average
Amount
REP
$2,664,942
70%
114
$23,37
DEM
$1,168,161
30%
19
$61,482
TOTAL:
$3,833,103
100%
133
$28,820

 

Top TLR PAC Donors in 2006
(Accounting for $2.9 Million—75 Percent of Its Total)

Amount
 Name  City  Company  Interest
$601,000
 Bob Perry  Houston  Perry Homes  Construction
$500,000
 T. Boone Pickens  Dallas  BP Capital  Finance
$390,000
 James Leininger  San Antonio  Kinetic Concepts, Inc.  Health
$225,000
 Robert McNair  Houston  Cogen Technologies  Energy/Nat’l Resources
$202,458
 Richard Weekley  Houston  Weekley Properties  Real Estate
$200,000
 Harlan Crow  Dallas  Crow Holdings  Real Estate
$100,000
 Edith & Peter O'Donnell  Dallas  First National Bank  Finance
$100,000
 Harold Simmons  Dallas  Contran Corp.  Finance
$64,000
 Tex. for Lawsuit Reform  Houston  Corporate donation to PAC  Ideological
$55,000
 Louis Beecherl  Dallas  Beecherl Co's  Energy/Nat’l Resources
$50,000
 Stevan Hammond  Dallas  Marketing Investors Corp.  Communications
$50,000
 Frank McGuyer  Houston  McGuyer Homebuilders  Construction
$50,000
 David Weekley  Houston  Weekley Homes  Construction
$42,000
 Michael Stevens  Houston  Michael Stevens Interests  Real Estate
$26,000
 B.J. McCombs  San Antonio  Red McCombs Automotive  Transportation
$25,000
 William R. Lummis  Houston  Howard Hughes heir  Finance
$25,000
 Michael Manners  Spring  ELAN Development  Construction
$25,000
 John Nau  Houston  Silver Eagle Distributors  Miscellaneous Business
$25,000
 John Speer  Houston  Royce Homes  Construction
$22,000
 Robert Weekley  Los Angeles  Lowe Development Corp.  Real Estate
$20,000
 Compass Banc PAC  Birmingham  Compass Bancshares  Finance
$20,000
 Trammell Crow  Dallas  Crow Holdings  Real Estate
$20,000
 Eric Green  Dallas  Real Time Resolutions  Finance
$20,000
 Forrest Hoglund  Dallas  Hoglund Interests/Enron  Energy/Nat’l Resources
$20,000
 Charles B. Lawrence  Houston  Kirby Corp.  Transportation
$20,000
 Frederick Rowe  Dallas  Greenbrier Partners, Ltd.  Finance

TLR gave half of its money to 98 incumbent officials, 41 percent to 24 open-seat candidates and 9 percent to 11 challengers. Although incumbents accounted for the greatest share of TLR’s money, TLR’s average contribution to incumbents fell short of its average expenditure on challengers and open-seat candidates. While these latter candidates typically face tougher odds than incumbents, they attract huge amounts of special-interest money because they can shift the balance of power in Austin if they do prevail.

TLR Contributions By Incumbency Status

 Incumbency
 Status
TLR
Contributions
Share of
TLR's Money
Number of
Recipients
Average
Contribution
 Incumbent
$1,918,311
50%
98
$19,575
 Open Seat
$1,565,650
41%
24
$65,235
 Challenger
$349,142
9%
11
$31,740
TOTALS:
$3,833,103
100%
133
$28,820

TLR’s most strident partisanship surfaces in these balance-shifting races. Open-seat candidates accounted for 50 percent of all the money that TLR gave to Republicans, yet just 24 percent of its Democratic money. Similarly, challengers accounted for 11 percent of TLR’s Republican money but just 5 percent of what it gave Democrats. In contrast, incumbents pocketed 95 percent of TLR’s Democratic money but just 35 percent of what it gave to Republicans.

Partisan Breakout of TLR Contributions By Incumbency Status



Incumbency
Status
Incumbents
Challengers
Open Seats
TOTALS:

Republicans

TLR
Total
TLR
Share
No. of
Candidates
Average
Amount
$1,021,342
38%
84
$12,159
$1,339,457
50%
21
$63,784
$304,142
11%
9
$33,794
$2,664,941
100%
114
$23,377

Democrats

TLR
Total
TLF
Share
No. of
Candidates
Average
Amount
$896,969
77%
14
$64,069
$226,192
19%
3
$75,397
$45,000
4%
2
$22,500
$1,168,161
100%
19
$61,482

TLR’s heavy spending on fiercely contested races that held at least some promise of increasing the GOP’s muscle in Austin slammed into an electorate that clipped the wings of the Republican majority—at least in the legislature. As a result, losing candidates burned up $2.7 million of TLR’s money, or a remarkable 71 percent of its total political investment.

TLR Contributions By Outcome

 Outcome
TLR
Contributions
% of TLR's
Money
Number of
 Recipients
Average
Contribution
 Losers
$2,722,362
71%
30
$90,745
 Winners
$1,087,241
28%
95
$11,445
 No '06 Election
$23,500
1%
8
$2,938
TOTALS:
$3,833,103
100%
133
$28,820

These overall trends are borne out in the accompanying tables, which list the Democratic and Republican legislative candidates who attracted the heaviest TLR funding. The list of TLR’s favorite Democratic legislative candidates contains six incumbent winners. The comparable GOP roster, by contrast, contains just two victorious incumbents.

TLR’s Top Democratic Legislative Races

TLR Amount
In ’06 Cycle
 Candidate
Seat
Incumbency
Status
2006
Outcome
Primary
%
General
%
Runoff
%
$713,969
 Frank Madla
S-19
Incumbent
Lost primary
43
-
-
$161,192
 Laura M. Salinas
H-143
Open seat
Lost special
0
26
39
$60,000
 Eddie Lucio III
H-38
Open seat
Won
51
64
-
$46,000
 Chuck Hopson
H-11
Incumbent
Won
100
51
-
$30,000
 David Farabee
H-69
Incumbent
Won
100
58
-
$30,000
 Mercurio Martinez
H-42
Challenger
Lost primary
32
-
42
$27,500
 Patrick Rose
H-45
Incumbent
Won
100
60
-
$21,000
 Mark Strama
H-50
Incumbent
Won
100
62
-
$20,000
 Robby Cook
H-17
Incumbent
Won
100
49
-
$15,000
 Steve Brown
H-27
Challenger
Lost primary
40
-
-
$15,000
 Mark Homer
H-3
Incumbent
Won
100
58
-

 

TLR’s Top Republican Legislative Races

TLR Amount
In ’06 Cycle
 Candidate
Seat
Incumbency
Status
2006
Outcome
Primary
%
General
%
Runoff
%
$434,487
 Bill Welch
H-47
Open seat
Lost
39
46
55
$255,049
 Jim Landtroop
H-85
Open seat
Lost
52
48
-
$253,349
 Charles Anderson
H-56
Incumbent
Won
100
79
-
$243,203
 Joe Nixon
S-7
Open seat
Lost primary
9
-
-
$205,125
 George Antuna
H-118
Open seat
Lost
49
44
81
$150,562
 Michael Esparaza
H-35
Challenger
Lost
100
42
-
$91,366
 Seaman Gene
H-32
Incumbent
Lost
100
46
-
$83,015
 Talmadge Heflin
H-149
Challenger
Lost
100
46
-
$79,925
 Betty Brown
H-4
Incumbent
Won
53
59
-
$72,545
 Martha Wong
H-134
Incumbent
Lost
100
43
-
$50,000
 Kent Grusendorf
H-94
Incumbent
Lost primary
42
-
-
$50,000
 Glenn Hegar
S-18
Open seat
Won
55
79
-

 

TLR spent $3.6 million—or 95 percent of its total—on 115 legislative candidates. It spent $122,500 (3 percent) on 15 judicial candidates, including five Supreme Court justices. Finally, it spent $64,270 (2 percent) on three non-judicial statewide candidates (Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth  Jones).

TLR’s judicial contributions are noteworthy given that it is promoting judicial-selection reform. Such a reform would stop Texas judges from sullying their reputations by relying on the very kind of special-interest campaign money that has always been TLR’s stock in trade.■

TLR Contributions By Office

 Office
TLR
Contributions
% of TLR ’s
Money
Number of
Recipients
Average
Contribution
 House
$2,559,496
67%
93
$27,521
 Senate
$1,086,837
28%
22
$49,402
 Judicial*
$122,500
3%
15
$8,167
 Statewide*
$64,270
2%
3
$21,423
TOTALS:
$3,833,103
100%
133
$28,820
*’Judicial’ includes $75,000 to five statewide Supreme Court candidates.

 

TLR-Backed Candidates in 2006 Cycle

TLR
Amount
(’06 Cycle)
 Candidate
Party
Office-District
Incumbency
Status
2006
Outcome
$713,969
 Frank Madla
D
Senate-19
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$434,487
 Bill Welch
R
House-47
Open Seat
Lost
$255,049
 Jim Landtroop
R
House-85
Open Seat
Lost
$253,349
 Charles Anderson
R
House-56
Incumbent
Won
$243,203
 Joe Nixon
R
Senate-7
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$205,125
 George Antuna
R
House-118
Open Seat
Lost
$161,192
 Laura M. Salinas
D
House-143
Open Seat
Lost Special
$150,562
 Michael Esparaza
R
House-35
Challenger
Lost
$91,366
 Gene Seaman
R
House-32
Incumbent
Lost
$83,015
 Talmadge Heflin
R
House-149
Challenger
Lost
$79,925
 Betty Brown
R
House-4
Incumbent
Won
$72,545
 Martha Wong
R
House-134
Incumbent
Lost
$60,000
 Eddie Lucio III
D
House-38
Open Seat
Won
$50,000
 Kent Grusendorf
R
House-94
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$50,000
 Glenn Hegar
R
Senate-18
Open Seat
Won
$50,000
 Don Willett
R
Supreme Court
Incumbent
Won
$49,204
 Kevin Christian
R
House-71
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$46,000
 Chuck Hopson
D
House-11
Incumbent
Won
$37,829
 Bill Keffer
R
House-107
Incumbent
Lost
$36,900
 Ben Bentzin
R
House-48
Challenger
Lost
$36,500
 Toby Goodman
R
House-93
Incumbent
Lost
$33,889
 Patricia Harless
R
House-126
Open Seat
Won
$33,270
 Rick Perry
R
Governor
Incumbent
Won
$30,000
 David Dewhurst
R
Lt. Governor
Incumbent
Won
$30,000
 David Farabee
D
House-69
Incumbent
Won
$30,000
 Mercurio Martinez
D
House-42
Challenger
Lost Primary
$27,500
 Patrick Rose
D
House-45
Incumbent
Won
$25,000
 Tom Craddick
R
House-82
Incumbent
Won
$21,000
 Mark Strama
D
House-50
Incumbent
Won
$20,165
 Donald Margo
R
Senate-29
Challenger
Lost
$20,000
 Robby Cook
D
House-17
Incumbent
Won
$20,000
 David Swinford
R
House-87
Incumbent
Won
$17,500
 Jim Murphy
R
House-133
Open Seat
Won
$16,000
 Tony Goolsby
R
House-102
Incumbent
Won
$15,883
 Larry Phillips
R
House-62
Incumbent
Won
$15,500
 Sid Miller
R
House-59
Incumbent
Won
$15,000
 Steve Brown
D
House-27
Challenger
Lost Primary
$15,000
 Mike Hamilton
R
House-19
Incumbent
Won
$15,000
 Mark Homer
D
House-3
Incumbent
Won
$14,925
 Anna Mowery
R
House-97
Incumbent
Won
$12,000
 Jim Pitts
R
House-10
Incumbent
Won
$10,000
 Norma Chavez
D
House-76
Incumbent
Won
$10,000
 David M. Medina
R
Supreme Court
Incumbent
Won
$10,000
 Tommy Merritt
R
House-7
Incumbent
Won
$10,000
 Dan Patrick
R
Senate-7
Open Seat
Won
$7,500
 Dan Flynn
R
House-2
Incumbent
Won
$7,500
 Bailey Moseley
R
Appeals Court-6
Open Seat
Won
$5,000
 Bob Deuell
R
Senate-2
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Craig Estes
R
Senate-30
Incumbent
NA
$5,000
 Dawn Estes
R
Dist. Judge-192
Open Seat
Lost
$5,000
 Nathan Hecht
R
Supreme Court
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Angelica Hernandez
D
Dist. Judge-94
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$5,000
 Juan ‘Chuy’ Hinojosa
D
Senate-20
Incumbent
NA
$5,000
 Wallace Jefferson
R
Supreme Court
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Phil Johnson
R
Supreme Court
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Steve Ogden
R
Senate-5
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 J. Rolando Olvera
R
Dist. Judge-138
Open Seat
Lost
$5,000
 Bob Pemberton
R
Appeals Court-3
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 David Puryear
R
Appeals Court-3
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Alan Waldrop
R
Appeals Court-3
Incumbent
Won
$5,000
 Will Wilson
R
Appeals Court-3
Open Seat
Lost
$4,500
 Lee Parsley
R
Appeals Court-3
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$4,000
 Phil King
R
House-61
Incumbent
Won
$3,500
 Wayne Christian
R
House-9
Challenger
Won
$3,500
 Joe Crabb
R
House-127
Incumbent
Won
$3,000
 Roy Blake
R
House-9
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$3,000
 Vicki Truitt
R
House-98
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Joe 'Jody' Anderson
R
House-12
Challenger
Lost
$2,500
 Kip Averitt
R
Senate-22
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Jimmie Aycock
R
House-54
Open Seat
Won
$2,500
 Dan Branch
R
House-108
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Brandon Creighton
R
House-16
Open Seat
Won
$2,500
 Drew Darby
R
House-72
Challenger
Won
$2,500
 Robert L. Duncan
R
Senate-28
Incumbent
NA
$2,500
 Charlie Geren
R
House-99
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Kelly Hancock
R
House-91
Open Seat
Won
$2,500
 Chris Harris
R
Senate-9
Incumbent
NA
$2,500
 Will Hartnett
R
House-114
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Charlie Howard
R
House-26
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Kyle Janek
R
Senate-17
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Susan King
R
House-71
Open Seat
Won
$2,500
 Mike Krusee
R
House-52
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Thomas Latham
R
House-101
Challenger
Won
$2,500
 Eddie Lucio Jr.
D
Senate-27
Incumbent
NA
$2,500
 Jane Nelson
R
Senate-12
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Diane Patrick
R
House-94
Challenger
Won
$2,500
 Kel G. Seliger
R
Senate-31
Incumbent
NA
$2,500
 Florence Shapiro
R
Senate-8
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 Jeff Wentworth
R
Senate-25
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 John Whitmire
D
Senate-15
Incumbent
Won
$2,500
 'Tommy' Williams
R
Senate-4
Incumbent
NA
$2,500
 John Zerwas
R
House-28
Open Seat
Won
$2,000
 Leo Berman
R
House-6
Incumbent
Won
$2,000
 Scott Campbell
R
House-72
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$1,750
 Carter Casteel
R
House-73
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$1,500
 Dwayne Bohac
R
House-138
Incumbent
Won
$1,500
 Linda Harper-Brown
R
House-105
Incumbent
Won
$1,500
 James Keffer
R
House-60
Incumbent
Won
$1,500
 Armando Martinez
D
House-39
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Byron Cook
R
House-8
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Myra Crownover
R
House-64
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Dianne Delisi
R
House-55
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Mary Denny
R
House-63
Incumbent
NA
$1,000
 Rodney Ellis
D
Senate-13
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Patrick Haggerty
R
House-78
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Peggy Hamric
R
Senate-7
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$1,000
 Fred Hill
R
House-112
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Delwin Jones
R
House-83
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Elizabeth A. Jones
R
Railroad Com.
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Jodie Laubenberg
R
House-89
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 John Otto
R
House-18
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Elvira Reyna
R
House-101
Incumbent
Lost Primary
$1,000
 Mike Villarreal
D
House-123
Incumbent
Won
$1,000
 Beverley Woolley
R
House-136
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Fred Brown
R
House-14
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Bill Callegari
R
House-132
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Glenda Dawson
R
House-29
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Joe Driver
R
House-113
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Rob Eissler
R
House-15
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Harvey Hilderban
R
House-53
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Ruben Hope
R
Dist. Judge-284
Open Seat
Lost Primary
$500
 Carl Isett
R
House-84
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Jim Jackson
R
House-115
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Gleanie Morrison
R
House-30
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Rob Orr
R
House-58
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Ken Paxton
R
House-70
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Debbie Riddle
R
House-150
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Wayne Smith
R
House-128
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Joe Straus
R
House-121
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Larry Taylor
R
House-24
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Corbin Van Arsdale
R
House-130
Incumbent
Won
$500
 G.E. ‘Buddy’ West
R
House-81
Incumbent
Won
$500
 Bill Zedler
R
House-96
Incumbent
Won
$3,833,102
 TOTAL