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Introduction
Almost 2,000 political committees (PACs) reported raising $307 million to the Texas Ethics Commission during the 2006 election cycle (January 1, 2005 – December 31, 2006). This amount includes $13 million in “unitemized” contributions of $50 or less for which the reporting PAC did not supply information about the donor. The reporting PACs included candidate-specific PACs (e.g., Texans for Rick Perry), political party PACs (e.g., Texas Democratic Party), general-purpose PACs that contribute to multiple candidates (e.g., Texans for Lawsuit Reform), and PACs that supported or opposed a given constitutional amendment (e.g., Texans for Marriage).
Of the $307 million reported by all committees, 825 candidate-specific committees reported raising a total of almost $186 million.1 The $307 million reported by all committees actually inflates the total amount of political money in the system, since money contributed to political party committees or general purpose committees is, in turn, often contributed to a candidate. These 825 candidate committees ranged from the $21 million reported by Texans for Rick Perry to tiny committees organized by candidates for low-profile, down-ballot races such as district attorney.
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by Jason Stout
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The focus of this report is the $158 million raised by 378 major-party candidates for the Texas Legislature and the seven top statewide offices.2 Parts of the report also include money raised by the 15 sitting senators who received contributions in the 2006 cycle yet did not face reelection that year.
War Chests Analyzed in this Report
| Office |
Major Candidates |
Amount Raised
In 2006 Cycle |
No. of Winners |
Amount Raised
By Winners |
| House |
309 |
$59,579,810 |
150 |
$42,009,324 |
| Senate* |
48 |
$27,477,218 |
16 |
$14,686,447 |
| Governor |
7 |
$42,493,800 |
1 |
$21,091,448 |
| Lieutenant Governor |
3 |
$10,912,099 |
1 |
$10,837,273 |
| Comptroller |
2 |
$4,532,012 |
1 |
$4,476,390 |
| Attorney General |
2 |
$7,064,317 |
1 |
$6,855,483 |
| Agricultural Commissioner |
2 |
$2,284,820 |
1 |
$2,203,298 |
| Railroad Commissioner |
3 |
$2,167,938 |
1 |
$2,165,588 |
| Land Commissioner |
2 |
$1,056,149 |
1 |
$1,051,743 |
TOTALS: |
378 |
$157,568,163 |
173 |
$105,376,994 |
*Includes 15 senators who raised money but did not face reelection in 2006
Acknowledgement
This report was prepared by Nhu Truong with the assistance of Kathryn Olson, Sean Chitty, Omair Khan, Lauren Reinlie & Andrew Wheat.
1This included $2 million in unitemized contributions.
2Also includes independent gubernatorial candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn.
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