$4 Million Man :

July 09, 2007

Speaker Craddick's Money
Balked Instead of Talked

• Did he keep his powder dry when he needed it most?

The May Mutiny may have left the Texas House’s leader in tatters but Speaker Tom Craddick can spend millions on repairs before the rebels get another shot at him in the next legislative session. Craddick reported in January that he sits on more than $4 million. This war chest—which more than doubled over the past three years—is five times larger than his nearest House competitor. In fact, only Attorney General Greg Abbott commands more surplus campaign cash ($5.6 million).

If Speaker Craddick is loaded, the question becomes how—or if—he will discharge this weapon. Will he open up on fellow Republicans? Will he leave the dirty work to loyal surrogates? Or will he abandon the struggle and safeguard his jackpot for some other end?

Fundraising prowess is a perquisite of the powerful House Speaker’s office. Another factor swelling Craddick’s war chest has been his tendency to hoard his campaign cash—even when he needed it most. In March of 2006, for example, Craddick contributed a relatively meager $90,000 to the Texas Opportunity PAC. It spent $360,000 to help seven Craddick lieutenants confront tough primaries; three of these loyalists did not survive to watch Craddick’s back during the mutinies that followed.¹

The only other political contribution that Craddick’s campaign made in 2006 was the $100,000 that it gave to the Craddick-aligned Stars Over Texas PAC (SOT). SOT spent heavily to protect 10 vulnerable House Republican incumbents and help six other Republicans who sought open seats in November 2006. Six of the 16 lost. Here again, Craddick could have dug much deeper into his multi-million-dollar war chest (which supplied less than 10 percent of SOT funds).

As he has done in the past, Craddick may be tempted to hold onto his campaign booty. He could enlist the lobby and his top donors to suppress his rivals. Yet the mutiny now facing Craddick is much more pervasive and threatening than what he confronted previously. So if he refuses to let his money talk this time, Craddick faces a greater risk of losing the Speaker’s gavel that he coveted for decades.

If Craddick cedes the podium, he could tap his war chest to complete his political career in style, enjoying the finest meals, wines and hotels. Finally, he could leave the House and have six years to distribute these funds to candidates, think tanks or even a charity run by his friends, family or Tom Craddick himself.

Craddick Campaign Cash on Hand

 

Craddick's Contribution by Check Size 2005-2006

 

Craddick’s Contributions by Economic Interest 2005-2006

 

Name	Employer	City	Total
Texas Assn. of Realtors PAC	Texas Real Estate Association	Austin	$75,000
BG Distribution Partners PAC	BG Distribution Partners, Ltd.	Houston	$55,000
Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson	Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson	Austin	$52,500
ACC Capital Holdings - PAC	ACC Capital Holdings	Austin	$50,000
AT&T PAC	AT&T	Austin	$50,000
Michael Stevens	Michael Stevens Interests Inc.	Houston	$50,000
TX Assn. of Mortgage Attorneys PAC	TX Assn. of Mortgage Attorneys	Houston	$50,000
TX Medical Association - TEXPAC	Texas Medical Association	Austin	$48,082
Robert C. McNair	Cogen Technologies/Houston Texans	Houston	$30,000
Harold Simmons	Contran Corp.	Dallas	$30,000
Alice L. Walton	Wal-Mart	Mineral Wells	$30,000
Bank of America PAC	Bank of America Corp.	Austin	$27,500
John L. Nau III	Silver Eagle Distributors L.P.	Houston	$26,072
J. Robert & Sherry Brown	Desert Eagle Distributing Co.	El Paso	$25,820
Home PAC of Texas	Texas Association of Builders	Lubbock	$25,500
Akin Gump PAC	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP	Austin	$25,000
Barry G. Andrews	Andrews Distributing Co.	Dallas	$25,000
Bennett Joe Glazer	Glazer's Wholesale Drug Co. Inc.	Dallas	$25,000
Ray L. Hunt	Hunt Consolidated, Inc.	Dallas	$25,000
Loeffler Tuggey, et al, LLP	Loeffler Tuggey et al, LLP	San Antonio	$25,000
Ryan & Company Texas PAC	Ryan & Company Inc.	Dallas	$25,000
SBC Corp. PAC	SBC	Austin	$25,000
Barkley J. Stuart	Glazer's Wholesale Drug Co. Inc.	Dallas	$25,000
Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC	Texans For Lawsuit Reform	Austin	$25,000
Union Pacific PAC	Union Pacific Railroad	DC	$25,000
United Parcel Service PAC	United Parcel Service Inc.	Atlanta, GA	$25,000
University General Hospital LP	University General Hospital LP	Houston	$25,000

 

Name	Employer	City	Amount
James R. Leininger	Kinetic Concepts Inc.	San Antonio	$135,000
Tom Craddick Campaign	State of Texas	Midland	$100,000
Robert C. McNair	Cogen Technologies/Houston Texans	Houston	$100,000
Ryan & Company Texas PAC	Ryan & Company Inc.	Dallas	$75,000
Bob Perry	Perry Homes	Houston	$60,000
Grande Communications PAC	Grande Communications	San Marcos	$40,000
HeartPlace PAC	HeartPlace	Dallas	$25,000
Union Pacific PAC	Union Pacific Railroad	Washington	$20,000
Clayton Williams	Clayton Williams Energy Inc.	Midland	$20,000
John L. Nau III	Silver Eagle Distributors L.P.	Houston	$17,669
James R. Pitts	State of Texas	Farmersville	$15,109
BG Distribution Partners PAC	BG Distribution Partners, Ltd.	Houston	$15,000

 

Name	Employer	City	Amount
Future of Texas Alliance PAC	Future of Texas Alliance	Austin	$91,100
Tom Craddick Campaign	State of Texas	Midland	$90,000
Bob Perry	Perry Homes	Houston	$50,000
Louis Beecherl	Beecherl Companies	Dallas	$25,000
MAXXAM Inc. Texas PAC	MAXXAM, Inc.	Houston	$25,000
T. Boone Pickens	BP Capital	Dallas	$25,000
Robert Rowling	TRT Holdings, Inc.	Irving	$25,000
Harold Simmons	Contran Corporation	Dallas	$25,000
Michael Stevens	Michael Stevens Interests Inc.	Houston	$25,000
John L. Nau III	Silver Eagle Distributors L.P.	Houston	$15,000
Michael Toomey	Texas Lobby Group	Austin	$7,200

 

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¹  None of this money went to the five incumbent Republicans targeted by James Leininger’s handpicked candidates.