Business PACs spent $63 million in the 2008 cycle, up 12 percent from what these PACs spent in the previous cycle. Business PACs accounted for 52 percent of all PAC spending this round, down from 58 percent in the 2006 cycle (the next section discusses Business PACs in more detail). Ideological and Single-Issue PACs increased spending 34 percent from 2006 to 2008. The $50 million spent by these PAC gave them 42 percent of the total PAC pie—up from 37 percent in 2006. Finally, Labor PACs have slowly increased their spending over the past decade. Yet the $6 million that they spent in 2008 still accounted for just 5 percent of all PAC spending.

Top Ideological and Single-Issue PACs

2008 Spending	PAC	2008 Rank	2006 Spending	2006 Rank	‘06- ‘08 Change
$5,994,140	TX Democratic Trust	1	$2,256,378	6	166%
$5,846,116	TX Democratic Party	2	$1,553,206	9	276%
$4,436,230	Republican Party of TX	3	$2,604,523	4	70%
$4,305,212	Texans For Lawsuit Reform	4	$4,224,428	1	2%
$1,967,814	Stars Over TX	9	$1,085,121	14	81%
$1,902,322	House Dem. Campaign Com.	10	$1,051,894	15	81%
$1,621,838	Annie's List	11	$1,098,083	13	48%
$1,176,228	Texans for Economic Development	13	$164,000	125	617%
$1,076,559	TX Parent PAC	15	$492,799	38	118%
$971,909	First Tuesday	16	$0
$942,353	Associated Republicans of TX	18	$1,472,061	10	-36%
$919,892	Blue TX	20	$0
$804,992	ActBlue TX	24	$4,517	831	17,720%
$661,589	Empower Texans	27	$0
$636,657	Travis Co. Democratic Party	31	$375,270	53	70%
$585,954	Vote Texas	33	$29,303	436	1,900%
$553,018	TX Federation of Republican Women	34	$523,562	36	6%
$478,622	TX Values in Action Coalition	39	$467,473	41	2%
$464,104	TX Progress Council	41	$340,138	62	36%
$442,937	Friends of Phil Gramm	45	$473,039	39	-6%
$427,739	TX 2020 PAC	51	$337,892	64	27%
$423,475	Denton Co. Democratic Club	53	$38,670	379	995%
$403,538	TX Builds Jobs & Opportunity…	57	$15,878	567	2,441%

 

While Labor PAC spending has been relatively steady, the expenditures of the other primary PAC sectors have fluctuated over the past decade. From 1995 through 2000 Business PACs averaged 63 percent of the total, Ideological and Single-Issue PACs averaged 33 percent and Labor PACs 5 percent. In the 2002 cycle Ideological PAC spending expanded to 39 percent of the total, fueled by conservative PACs that successfully sought Republican control of the Texas House. In the following 2004 cycle, Ideological PAC spending plummeted to 26 percent of the total, as then-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle sought to prosecute Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC and the Texas Association of Business for allegedly breaking Texas elections laws in 2002. In 2008, Ideological and Single-Issue PACs rebounded to 42 percent of all PAC spending, as the fight to control the Texas House broke out anew. Although Democrats fell two seats short of House control, they gained ground and helped moderate Republican Rep. Joe Straus elbow out hardliner Craddick as speaker.

Top Labor PACs

2008 Spending	PAC	2008 Rank	2006 Spending	2006 Rank	‘06-‘08 Growth
$706,235	Fort Worth Firefighters	26	$387,785	51	82.12%
$496,298	TX State Teachers Assn.	38	$547,839	34	-9.41%
$398,924	Houston Police Officers Union	58	$320,129	68	24.61%
$285,180	TX Classroom Teachers Assn.	88	$246,508	85	15.69%
$266,086	Plumbers Local #68	99	$249,097	83	6.82%
$235,226	Teamsters Local #745	112	$145,344	143	61.84%
$216,959	San Antonio Firefighters	117	$178,302	117	21.68%
$202,762	Deputy Sheriff's Assn. of Bexar Co.	124	$199,464	105	1.65%
$202,465	Assn. of TX Professional Educators	126	$140,590	152	44.01%
$190,936	San Antonio Police Officers Assn.	131	$206,191	101	-7.40%
$162,924	Alliance of Dallas Educators	150	$132,175	160	23.26%
$136,082	Houston Professional Fire Fighters Assn.	171	$163,438	128	-16.74%
$135,607	Education Austin PAC	172	$183,115	113	-25.94%
$125,581	Fort Worth Police Officer's Assn.	180	$70,990	253	76.90%
$120,350	United Transportation Union	186	$94,700	209	27.09%
$118,395	Pipe Fitters Local Union 211	189	$79,226	233	49.44%
$112,531	Teamsters Local 988 DRIVE	195	$0

 

PAC Spending By Sector

 

 

Sector	1998 Cycle	2000 Cycle	2002 Cycle	2004 Cycle	2006 Cycle	2008 Cycle	’06-‘08 Growth	2008 Share
Business	$31,516,817	$34,416,627	$48,000,676	$46,088,137	$57,034,732	$62,741,376	12%	52%
Ideology	$17,719,192	$16,870,715	$33,466,788	$17,789,167	$37,003,210	$50,403,265	34%	42%
Labor	$2,259,742	$2,707,704	$3,776,290	$4,512,391	$5,116,613	$6,307,456	23%	5%
Unknown	$48,068	$1,929	$76,473	$514,829	$13,099	$109,764		<1%
TOTALS:	$51,543,820	$53,996,975	$85,320,226	$68,904,524	$99,167,654	$119,561,861	21%	100%

 

This partisan showdown is played out in the accompanying list of the 19 “new” PACs that spent more than $100,000 apiece in the 2008 cycle after being inactive in the 2006 cycle. Twelve major new PACs fall into the Ideological and Single-Interest category. The two largest new PACs were trial-lawyer backed, Democratic committees that rank among Texas’ top 20 PACs: First Tuesday and Blue Texas PAC.

First Tuesday reported that it received two $300,000 checks from the Texas Democratic Trust on October 14, 2008. The checks came a couple weeks before the death of Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron, the Trust’s founder and chief funder.⁴ Before Baron’s death, First Tuesday spent almost $600,000 on media buys through Virginia-based Democratic consultants McMahon Squier Lapp & Associates. First Tuesday also gave heavily to two other new Democratic PACs: Texans Together and Texas Forward Committee.⁵

New entrant Blue Texas PAC cleared $900,000 in spending. It raked in $50,000 donations from: Corpus-based Watts Law Firm, Austin Ventures partner John Thornton, and Midland oil man Michael Klein. Blue Texas backed Democrats in close House races (including Diane Maldonado, Dan Barrett, Chris Turner and Carol Kent).

Trial-lawyer sources (including First Tuesday, Texans for Insurance Reform and Houston attorney Fred Hagans) were top funders of new PAC Texans Together, which heavily backed Chris Bell’s failed state Senate campaign. After a failed 2006 gubernatorial campaign, Bell formed Faith in Texas Fund with $110,000 in leftover campaign funds.⁶ Bell said his PAC would support candidates “who view public service as an honor and responsibility to serve the needs of ordinary Texans.” Such a candidate surfaced when Bell launched his failed 2008 bid for retiring state Senator Kyle Janek’s seat. Faith in Texas’ top expenditure was a $12,000 donation to Bell.

Largest New PACs in 2008

2008 Spending	2008 Rank	PAC	Interest Category
$971,909	16	First Tuesday	Ideological/Single Issue
$919,892	20	Blue TX	Ideological/Single Issue
$661,589	27	Empower Texans PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
$349,639	67	TX Business for Clean Air	Ideological/Single Issue
$316,000	75	Twenty-One PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
$311,005	77	Best for TX PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
$238,828	109	Medical Defense PAC	Health
$222,471	116	Texans Together PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
$207,500	121	Gulf Greyhound Partners & Employees	Miscellaneous Business
$180,525	135	TX Energy Future Capital Holdings	Energy/Nat’l Resources
$178,398	139	Texans for Better Education	Ideological/Single Issue
$167,051	147	TX Fed. of Rep. Women Convention ‘ 07	Ideological/Single Issue
$165,985	148	TX Consumer Lenders PAC	Finance
$133,332	175	Faith in TX Fund	Ideological/Single Issue
$129,200	178	PBSJ Corp. PAC	Construction
$121,850	183	Spectra Energy Corp PAC	Energy/Nat’l Resources
$118,060	191	Human Rights Campaign TX Families	Ideological/Single Issue
$107,592	202	Fort Bend Conservative Club	Ideological/Single Issue
$106,765	204	Chesapeake Energy For Texans	Energy/Nat’l Resources

 

Fastest-Growing PACs

2006-2008 Growth	2008 Spending	2006 Spending	PAC Name	Interest Category
17,720%	$804,992	$4,517	ActBlue TX	Ideological/Single Issue
2,501%	$301,719	$11,600	Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund	Ideological/Single Issue
2,441%	$403,538	$15,878	TX Builds Jobs & Opportunity For Secure Future	Ideological/Single Issue
1,900%	$585,954	$29,303	Vote TX	Ideological/Single Issue
1,382%	$172,558	$11,643	Maverick PAC USA	Ideological/Single Issue
1,309%	$211,320	$15,000	NRG Energy Inc.	Energy/Nat’l Resources
1,179%	$125,280	$9,794	Conservative Republicans of TX	Ideological/Single Issue
1,156%	$301,900	$24,044	Devon Energy Corp.	Energy/Nat’l Resources
1,098%	$131,227	$10,950	American Subcontractors Assn. of TX	Construction
1,078%	$124,605	$10,579	TX Democratic Women of the Brazos Valley	Ideological/Single Issue
995%	$423,475	$38,670	Denton Co. Democratic Club	Ideological/Single Issue
765%	$127,391	$14,725	Northside Bond Committee	Ideological/Single Issue
617%	$1,176,228	$164,000	Texans for Economic Development	Miscellaneous Business
481%	$374,360	$64,461	A&M PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
338%	$283,911	$64,753	Lone Star Fund	Ideological/Single Issue
200%	$102,580	$25,655	Northwest Democrats of Bexar Co.	Ideological/Single Issue
279%	$161,066	$42,530	TX Construction Assn.	Construction
276%	$5,846,116	$1,553,206	TX Democratic Party	Ideological/Single Issue
235%	$3,118,794	$929,601	TX Assn. of Realtors Issues Mobilization PAC	Real Estate
225%	$323,815	$99,609	TX Deer Assn.7	Ideological/Single Issue

 

Bell also was by far the top beneficiary of Texas’ fastest-growing PAC, ActBlue Texas, which jumped from less than $5,000 in 2006 spending to almost $805,000 in 2008. Top ActBlue donors include Rep. Garnet Coleman, Houston Democratic donor Poppi Massey and Annie’s List activists: Robert Jones and Erica Prosser. ActBlue also funded the fast-shrinking Democracy for Texas PAC. Matt Angle, an ex-aide to former Democratic Congressman Martin Frost, runs the fast-growth Lone Star Fund. Top Lone Star PAC donors include labor unions, plaintiff lawyers Fred Baron and Tom Hall, and the federal trial-lawyer American Association for Justice PAC. The Lone Star Fund spent heavily on rent, legal services from Angle’s Texas Litigation Fund and transfers to Baron’s Texas Democratic Trust.

Another fast-growing committee was the Texas Democratic Party itself, which leapt from $1.6 million in expenditures in 2006 to $5.8 million in 2008. It collected $2.6 million from the Texas Democratic Trust and received $250,000 or more from four plaintiff firms: Watts Law Firm, Nix Patterson & Roach, Provost & Umphrey and Williams Kherkher Hart & Boundas (previously Williams Bailey). The Democratic Party paid $1.6 million to consultants McMahon Squier Lapp & Associates and $674,467 to the Washington-based political advertising firm MSHC Partners. Candidates receiving major party support include Dallas Senator Royce Williams and Mark Thompson, who failed to topple GOP Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams. Local Democratic chapters in Bryan, Denton and San Antonio also experienced rapid growth. Fueled by trial-lawyer money, fast-growth Vote Texas PAC also promoted Democratic candidates.

Fewer new or fast-growth committees promoted Republicans. Top donors to Empower Texans PAC include James Leininger, Bob Perry and Tim Dunn, the Midland oilman who founded Empower. Empower—which tried to keep Speaker Craddick in power⁸—gave heavily to GOP House candidates Tom Annunziato, Linda Harper-Brown, Nathan Macias and Mark Shelton. Twenty-One PAC sought to elect 21 Republicans to the 31-seat Texas Senate, which traditionally does not move legislation without the backing of a supermajority of 21 senators. Republicans wound up with 19 seats, due in part to the victory of Democrat Wendy Davis, who unseated Fort Worth Republican Kim Brimer—the top recipient of Twenty-One PAC funds.⁹ At $25,000 apiece, the top donors to this PAC were Senators Kip Averitt, Troy Fraser, Florence Shapiro, Tommy Williams and Kyle Janek.¹⁰ After Twenty-One PAC failed its mission, the Senate voted at the start of the 2009 session to waive the two-thirds rule for voter-identification bills. Democrats say such measures suppress minority voting.

Before retiring to become a lobbyist, Senator Kyle Janek topped $302,335 from his war chest to create Best For Texas PAC. In a failed effort to pick Janek’s successor, Best for Texas gave more than $200,000 to Republican Austen Furse. Furse trailed Chris Bell and Joan Huffman in a special election to replace Janek. Huffman won the runoff in December 2008.

Ex-Bush Press Secretary Tony Snow

The new Fort Bend Conservative Club dropped $40,000 on a 2008 speech by former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. The club’s top funder was former Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace.11 The fast-growth Conservative Republicans of Texas got most of its money from sister PAC Conservative Republicans of Harris County. It spent its money on consultants and printing costs. Maverick PAC of Texas, which shut down in 2008, is an outgrowth of the under 40-year-old “Mavericks” who raised more than $50,000 for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign. A successor Maverick PAC USA continues to be a vehicle for the under-40 crowd to support state and federal GOP candidates.

A PAC that Craddick once used to help him ascend to the Speaker’s dais was one of the fastest-shrinking PACs in 2008. With the Craddick campaign as its No. 1 contributor in 2002, the Campaign for Republican Leadership (CRL) funneled $176,500 to eight House Republicans candidates, six of whom were elected and voted to make Craddick speaker.¹² This dwindling PAC changed its name to Texas Smart PAC in 2006.

Two other new ideological PACs promoted Democrats, who tend to be more supportive of their issues. Texans for Better Education got 76 percent of its money from grocery magnate and school-voucher opponent Charles Butt. This PAC gave heavily to the kindred Texas Parent PAC and to Democratic House incumbents Hubert Vo and Juan Garcia. The Human Rights Campaign Texas Families PAC supports gay rights. Its top donors were Cleveland’s David Maltz, who has broadcasting and real estate interests, and Michigan’s Jon Stryker, the heir to a medical-implements fortune. The kindred Human Rights PAC supported Democrats in close legislative races (including Bell, Maldonado and Turner). Maltz and Stryker also were the top donors to the Washington-based Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which ranked among Texas’ fastest-growing PACs. This PAC focused on local government candidates, led by Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, failed Dallas mayoral candidate Ed Oakley and new Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. The gay-rights Texas Equity PAC ranked among the fastest-shrinking PACs over the past election cycle.

Dallas businessmen formed new PAC Texas Business for Clean Air after TXU Corp. announced in 2006 that it would build 11 new coal-fired power plants in Texas. Texas Business for Clean Air combats the notion that filthy air is good for business. Developer Trammell Crow sunk $150,000 into this crusade. Two other Metroplex businessmen contributed $50,0000 apiece: oil-rich investor Ed Bass and David Litman, who started the online-shopping Consumer Club. The group spent $127,000 on PR firm Laurey Peat & Associates and paid $75,000 lobby retainers to Alan Erwin and the firm Johnson & Johnson.

Three vanishing PACs did not spend a dime this cycle after spending more than $100,000 in the 2006 cycle. All of these vanishing PACs were major dependents of San Antonio conservative activist James Leininger. The Future of Texas Alliance, Texas Opportunity PAC and All Children Matter depended heavily on Leininger’s money.¹³ They also aided Leininger’s 2006 to try to knock out moderate GOP lawmakers who rejected school vouchers.¹⁴ This strategy met little success. Two other Leininger PACs that were part of this effort rank among the fastest-shrinking PACs. Leininger’s Texas Republican Legislative Campaign Committee and Texans for School Choice collectively spent less than $15,000 in 2008 after spending $2.9 million in the preceding cycle.

Largest-Vanishing PACs

2006 Spending	PAC Name	Interest Category
$655,655	Future of TX Alliance	Ideological/Single Issue
$395,419	TX Opportunity PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
$141,088	All Children Matter	Ideological/Single Issue

 

Fast-growth A&M PAC formed in 2006 to promote the university’s legislative agenda. This it did in early 2009 when it landed an unusual $50 million state grant to build a drug-development center.¹⁵ A&M PAC’s top expenditures went to PAC treasurer Michael White, PR firm Guerra DeBerry & Coody and direct-mail spending through Costa Tercera Productions. A&M PAC’s top contributions went to Democratic Senator Judith Zaffirini and to Speaker Craddick. The Craddick contribution flowed one month before that Speaker signed off on the A&M grant and then—days later—acknowledged that he did not have the votes to lead the House any more.

Houston trial lawyer George Fleming and then-Rep. Borris Miles funded the fast-shrinking Texans for Good Leaders PAC. It previously funded unsuccessful attack ads against Houston Republican Rep. Patricia Harless.  TakingBackTexas.org was another fast-shrinking Democratic PAC in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. More PACs are discussed in the next section, which analyzes PACs spending in the five top-spending industries: Lawyers & Lobbyists, Energy/Natural Resources, Real Estate, Health and Construction.

Fastest-Shrinking PACs

2006-2008 Change	2008 Spending	2006 Spending	PAC Name	Interest Category
-99.97	$727	$2,726,907	TX Repub. Legislative Campaign Com.	Ideological/Single Issue
99.53	$3,750	$794,263	TX Assn. Of Mortgage Attorneys	Lawyers & Lobbyists
-98.94	$2,128	$201,585	TX Smart PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
-98.90	$10,232	$931,233	Good Government PAC	Lawyers & Lobbyists
-98.67	$4,599	$345,750	ACC Capital Holdings	Finance
-96.84	$4,066	$128,610	Wells Fargo	Finance
-.94.66	$6,431	$120,333	Maverick PAC of TX	Ideological/Single Issue
-94.39	$6,500	$115,798	Select Milk Southwest PAC	Agriculture
-93.61	$13,533	$211,757	Texans for School Choice	Ideological/Single Issue
-92.93	$7,630	$107,900	Jenkens & Gilchrist	Lawyers & Lobbyists
-92.61	$8,106	$109,744	People for Efficient Transportation	Ideological/Single Issue
-92.48	$8,090	$107,574	TX Horsemen's Partnership	Miscellaneous Business
-90.90	$11,000	$120,909	MAXIMUS, Inc.	Computers
-89.14	$13,589	$125,103	Texans For Good Leaders	Ideological/Single Issue
-87.51	$15,999	$128,058	Democracy for TX	Ideological/Single Issue
-81.86	$24,364	$134,308	TX Equity PAC	Ideological/Single Issue
-81.64	$19,605	$106,762	TakingBackTX.org	Ideological/Single Issue

 

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⁴ “Texas Democrats at crossroads in 2010 elections,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 22, 2009.
⁵ It also gave $35,000 to Democrat Adrian Garcia, who took out the Harris County’s Republican sheriff in 2008.
⁶ Dallas developer Trammell Crow gave Faith in Texas $11,000; Houston Democratic donor Poppi Georges-Massey gave $10,000.
⁷ See “The Sperm-Donor Lobby: Spending Big Bucks at the Legislature,” Texas Observer, April 3, 2009.
⁸ “Saving Speaker Craddick,” Texas Observer, January 25, 2008.
⁹ Twenty-One PAC gave $130,00 to Brimer and $125,000 to GOP incumbent Mike Jackson of La Porte, who beat Democratic challenger Joe Jaworski with 56 percent of the vote.
¹⁰ Twenty-One PAC also received $10,000 contributions from Nancy Ann Hunt, spouse of Dallas oil man Ray Hunt, concrete vendor John Victor Lattimore, homebuilder Bob Perry, investor Robert Rowling, nuclear-waste magnet Harold Simmons and Andrews & Kurth law firm. This PAC promoting GOP hegemony also received $500 from alcohol purveyor Dick Trabulsi, the Texans for Lawsuit Reform founder often described as a Democrat.
¹¹ Wallace donated $6,250. Marketing executive Cindy Marion contributed design and printing work to the club valued at $17,504.
¹² See “Craddick-Tied PAC Cash Routed To Just 8 GOP House Candidates,” TPJ’s Lobby Watch, April 2, 2004. http://info.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/04-02-04_gopleaderpac.html
¹³ A smaller vanishing PAC also relied heavily on Leininger money. The Texas Club for Growth vanished in 2008 after spending $60,746 in 2008.
¹⁴ See “Dr. Leininger Injects $5 Million Into Election,” TPJ’s Lobby Watch, November 16, 2006. http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=1101&pubid=859 Leininger’s Future of Texas PAC and then-Speaker Tom Craddick’s campaign were the top funders of the now-vanished Texas Opportunity PAC, which supported conservative Republicans. Texas Club For Growth had the same agenda. Its top funders were Leininger and Houston apartment developer Michael Boylan. Funded just by Leininger in 2006, All Children Matter PAC’s largest expenditures were two $54,360 checks. One went to consultant Mike Baselice; the other went to the aforementioned Future of Texas PAC.
¹⁵ The National Center for Therapeutics Manufacturing. See “Did Aggie Contributions Grease $50 Million Enterprise Fund Deal?” TPJ’s Lobby Watch, March 25, 2009. http://info.tpj.org/Lobby_Watch/03-25-09_A&MPAC.html