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Campaign finance
May 9, 2008
Romney raises Austin money for Cornyn
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, juiced his already-bulging campaign kitty Friday with a fund-raiser in Austin featuring Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who might prove to be Sen. John McCain’s vice presidential choice.
Word is that Romney has a reunion of Texas donors in Houston on Friday night, to be followed by an event raising money for McCain’s campaign on Saturday.
U.S. Reps. John Carter, R-Round Rock, and Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, were among the 45 people at the event at Austin’s Headliners Club, helping the campaign raise about $50,000.
Kevin McLaughlin, Cornyn’s campaign spokesman, said: “We’re always looking for creative ways to raise money. We are not shy about asking people for money.”
I wondered if former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the Republican who outlasted Romney in the presidential race, is next up for a private shindig with Cornyn. He’s not.
Tony Gray, a spokesman for the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, state Rep. Rick Noriega, was unaware of Romney pausing to help Cornyn. “More evidence that his machine is out there moving and working,” Gray said.
Gray said the blogosphere has gone nuts over a new poll suggesting Cornyn is barely ahead of Noriega. Peek at it here.
McLaughlin said he was “flummoxed/dumbfounded/perplexed” by some of the poll results including an indication that Noriega is better known in Texas than Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
“I find it hard to take a poll seriously conducted by Daily Kos that finds a state representative in Texas is better known than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton,” McLaughlin said.
Gray said there was no intent to cut the Texas press out of a national conference call Noriega’s campaign did to tout the poll at midday Friday. The campaign’s new strategic communications firm sent out notice of the call from a national press list, he said.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: Campaign finance, Republican politics, U.S. Senate
February 25, 2008
Judge restores campaign ads in House race
A pro-gambling group and the election opponent of Rep. Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde, can resume advertisements targeting the incumbent, a Travis County judge ruled Monday.
State District Judge Scott Jenkins dissolved a temporary order granted Friday that had ordered the pro-gambling group to pull its negative TV commercial and required Macias’ opponent, Doug Miller, to document the source of the money for his advertisement to a Travis County court.
Jenkins strongly criticized the broad nature of the temporary restraining order and that it was obtained with only Macias’ lawyer present. State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo granted Macias’ request Friday.
“Quite frankly, I’m quite concerned this TRO shut down someone’s campaign on the last weekend,” Jenkins said.
Texans for Economic Development, an umbrella organization for horse- and dog-racing interests, had been running advertisements targeting Macias and two other Republican state representatives, Phil King of Weatherford and Betty Brown of Terrell.
The judge noted that King and Brown also were seeking similar court orders to stop ads against them: “If I granted this, I guess I’d have every candidate in the state coming to me,” Jenkins said.
The incumbents complained that the group may have been using corporate contributions to pay for the campaign advertising. Under Texas law, corporations may not contribute to campaigns.
Texans for Economic Development said it did not use the corporate donations for the political advertising but for overhead, which is allowed under the law. The group reported total contributions of more than $1 million as of December; of that $118,000 came from corporations.
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January 24, 2008
State senators' campaign moolah
San Antonio Sen. Jeff Wentworth may have started 2008 with nothing in his campaign account — see his take here — but his 30 Senate colleagues had a combined $18 million-plus, according to their latest campaign finance reports.
The details:
SENATOR CASH ON HAND as of 12/31/07
John Whitmire $3,467,240.92
Rodney Ellis 1,908,896.35
Troy Fraser 1,221,806.06
Kirk Watson 1,195,945.87
Judith Zaffirini 1,120,200.43
Kim Brimer 1,101,053.05
Jane Nelson 1,008,399.40
Mike Jackson 957,868.19
Florence Shapiro 853,580.02
Royce West 808,678.41
Steve Ogden 710,228.39
Kevin Eltife 586,067.97
Kel Seliger 519,871.31
Kyle Janek 503,237.57
Tommy Williams 437,837.06
Robert Duncan 365,315.57
Chris Harris 321,889.74
Craig Estes 211,921.75
Glenn Hegar 184,953.00
Leticia Van de Putte 176,519.73
Dan Patrick 146,970.62
Mario Gallegos 121,460.86
Robert Nichols 116,320.11
Bob Deuell 109,294.92
John Carona 104,161.29
Carlos Uresti 90,517.85
Eddie Lucio 57,654.77
Juan Hinojosa 35,694.51
Eliot Shapleigh 15,701.91
Jeff Wentworth 0.00
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Campaign finance, Texas Senate
January 17, 2008
Perry, Bush reuniting at Washington fundraiser
Gov. Rick Perry will be reunited with President Bush at a February fundraiser in Washington. The gala organized by the Republican Governors Association (which Perry chairs this year) might give Perry a chance to publicly elaborate on why Bush has never been a fiscal conservative in Perry’s eyes. Perry aired his view at an Iowa stop in December that was placed on YouTube.com. (See our December account here.)
According to the invitation to the Republican Governors Association’s Feb. 25 “celebration of America’s leaders” — fetchable by clicking here — contributors can get in for as little as $1,000, though folks also have the option of volunteering to raise up to $500,000 for the association.
Mildly intriguing in the wake of Perry’s characterization of Bush in December: It looks as if Perry might not directly introduce Bush, his predecessor as governor, at the dinner. That’s because the dinner chairman is South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Comings and goings, Elections, Governor, Money, On a Lighter Note, Presidential race
November 16, 2007
Second Obama fundraiser Saturday, with barbecue
If Saturday afternoon’s $25 a person fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama at The Backyard on Highway 71 isn’t enough for Austin-area supporters, there will be a more exclusive evening barbecue — admission $500 up to $2,300, which probably gets contributors closer to elbow rubbing with the Democratic presidential candidate.
Peek at details here or leap to an RSVP.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Presidential race, Presidential race
November 13, 2007
Huckabee and the Clintons coming soon to Texas
Next week looks to be Arkansas Week in Texas politics with two former Arkansas governors and a former Arkansas first lady touching down to raise money for competing presidential campaigns.
Bill Clinton, the former Arkansas governor who served eight years as president, will be featured Monday at a Dallas lunch raising money for the former Arkansas first lady, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton. Then the senator appears Wednesday in Houston for “Countdown to ‘08 Cocktails.”
Meanwhile, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, seeking the Republican presidential nod, is penciled in for an Austin fundraiser Monday evening.
Peek at the Clinton invitations here and here. Scope the Huckabee invite here.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Presidential race, Presidential race
November 1, 2007
Giuliani planning to raise money in San Antonio
Rudy Giuliani, the front-running Republican aspirant for president, plans to hold what supporters are calling his last Texas event of 2007 in San Antonio. He’s got a fundraiser penciled in for Nov. 19 at the Westin La Cantera Resort.
Intrigued enough to pony up? E-mail whitneybowles@joinrudy2008.com.
Giuliani’s campaign said Thursday the former mayor of New York might also hold a public event, but nothing is settled.
Loose thought: Maybe “Texas Monthly Talks” will land a remote interview with Giuliani outside the Alamo, which is where a fourth-place gubernatorial candidate launched his candidacy in February 2005.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Campaign finance, Presidential race
October 31, 2007
Texas Democrats offer fundraiser with Paul Begala
Dying for dinner with Democratic pundit Paul Begala? The Texas Democratic Party is throwing a supper party fundraiser featuring Begala on Thursday Nov. 8 at the Hilton Austin, 500 East Fourth St., in Austin.
Tickets can be had for $500 for two people up to $10,000 for 10 entries to a VIP reception plus the dinner. Learn more from Katelyn Patterson at 512-478-9800 or kpatterson@txdemocrats.org.
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October 24, 2007
Bill, Rudy and Nancy expected in Austin
Hunting campaign cash, three national political players are swinging through Austin at the end of this week. It would cost about $2,100 to hobnob with all of them, based on minimum entry fees listed on invitations to the separate events featuring Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuiliani, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who are Democrats.
Richardson, trying to break into the first flight of Democratic presidential candidates, is penciled in to attend a hotel luncheon Friday hosted by the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin followed by a lunch reception for his campaign at an East Austin restaurant. The association lunch, starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Austin Hilton Hotel, costs $40. The 12:30 p.m. campaign lunch at Nuevo Leon, 1501 East Sixth St., costs a minimum of $100. RSVP to Valerie Chraca at 202-719-1398.
Later Friday, Giuliani (endorsed last week by Texas Gov. Rick Perry) is due at a cocktail reception in a private residence. The campaign seeks minimum donations of $1,000 per person or they can leap to $4,600, with the understanding that half the money will be spent on activities related to the GOP primaries and the rest on the 2008 general election, in keeping with federal law. Dial Whitney Bowles at 713-783-1415 for information.
Pelosi, D-California, will be featured at a Sunday reception benefiting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Guests can attend for $1,000 and up — way up to $28,500 for a guest to join the “Speaker’s Cabinet,” according to the invitation. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, is listed as a special guest. Call Missy Jurek at 202-485-3455 to learn more.
Anyone making the three-party splurge is encouraged to write me. Just say why you did it.
October 15, 2007
Watts has more money, but Cornyn outraised him
San Antonio lawyer Mikal Watts (he of the bulging pockets) edged U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in cash on hand through September, though Cornyn tripled the money raised by Watts in the three months starting July 1.
Watts, eyeing his first run for public office, is four months into exploring the Senate race.
According to fundraising reports updated Monday, Watts’ fundraising barely outpaced the Web-centric efforts of state Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, another explorer. But Noriega trails Cornyn and Watts in cash on hand by more than $6 million—potentially the difference between plentiful TV advertising versus almost none and private plane travel versus hoofing it (a slight exaggeration).
Watts ended the quarter with $8.6 million cash on hand. Cornyn, who raised more than $1.7 million in the period, had $6.6 million cash on hand. Noriega reported $510,314 cash on hand.
Noriega and Watts, who could face each other in the Democratic primary in March, each raised more than $500,000 in the three months starting July 1, with Watts collecting $570,374 and Noriega tallying $530,722.
Noriega also loaned his campaign $50,000. Watts, who has a personal fortune to put into the Senate race, added $3.69 million in personal loans to his campaign, increasing the money he has donated or loaned his campaign since June 1 to $7.5 million.
Barbara Radnofsky, the Democrats’ 2006 nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, advised against judging the fundraising numbers. She’s not picking sides in a possible Watts-Noriega race, but she said she senses big Democratic gains regardless of fundraising differences.
“Texas is going Democratic; that attitude is going to affect people increasingly in January, February and March,” she said. “It could be there’s a massive Democratic sweep and money is not as important as last election.”
On a related front, Emil Reichstadt of Dallas, a lawyer who announced he was exploring a run for the Democratic Senate nomination last spring, confirmed he’s shifting his sights to a bid for the Texas House seat held by Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. He said party activists encouraged him to make the move to spare the party a U.S. Senate primary runoff.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Money, U.S. Senate
September 24, 2007
Sharp tells Dewhurst: Not so fast
Five years after Republican David Dewhurst defeated John Sharp for lieutenant governor, Sharp’s listed as a “platinum” fundraiser and contributor to Dewhurst’s campaign. That’d be a heck of a turnaround for the Democrat and former state comptroller, who lost to Dewhurst by more than 250,000 votes in 2002.
Not so fast, Sharp said in a letter he had hand-delivered to Dewhurst’s Capitol office on Monday.
“As you know, I am not a supporter of yours politically,” Sharp writes, “and I wanted to call this mistake to your attention if you are not already aware of it.”
Sharp’s letter states that he’s listed along with Brint Ryan as a contributor on an invitation to an Oct. 18 event. Ryan helms Ryan & Company, where Sharp is a partner.
Mike Wintemute, speaking for Dewhurst’s campaign, said Sharp has been listed on materials for Dewhurst previously—without Sharp complaining. But “the lieutenant governor is pleased to honor Mr. Sharp’s request,” Wintemute said.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance
July 16, 2007
Bell-ringing amount raised by Perry
GOP Gov. Rick Perry, who hasn’t ruled out running for governor a third time in 2010, raised nearly $900,000 in the few days he was allowed by law to corral campaign cash — after the veto period following the regular legislative session.
Asked why Perry is raising money, spokesman Robert Black said: “You never know what the future holds.”
Their statement:
Texans for Rick Perry Reports $1.4 million Cash-On-Hand
$881,488 raised since June 18th
AUSTIN - Today the Texans for Rick Perry Campaign reported more than $1.4 million cash-on-hand including $881,488 raised from June 18th - June 30th.
“The Governor is humbled by the tremendous support he continues to receive from Texans all across the state,” said spokesman Robert Black. “In the coming years, Gov. Perry looks forward to continuing to put conservative principles to work in state government by increasing transparency, reducing taxes, protecting our border and improving the education systems in Texas.”
#
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Elections, Governor
June 11, 2007
Report: Roger Williams resigning, could run for office
An Austin TV station reported Sunday that Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams intends to step down as of July 1.
It’d be no shock if Williams is leaving. Past secretaries of state—gubernatorial nominees mainly in charge of overseeing state elections—have gone on to elected office.
Among them: U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo; former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk; and former Gov. Mark White. Also, the late Bob Bullock won election as state comptroller and then lieutenant governor after serving as secretary of state.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Elections, Governor
April 12, 2007
Gift-definition proposal clears House
House members today sent the Senate a measure by Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, requiring public officials to report the fair-market value of gifts.
Senators last month advanced a measure by Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, requiring officials to disclose the value of gifts they receive of $250 or more.
Look for the bodies to sort their differences, or not, by the end of the session May 28.
Existing law requires reporting of a gift of $250 in value or more, but not the precise value.
The Texas Ethics Commission advised last year that a state official need not report the value of a gift of cash or cash equivalent on his or her personal financial disclosure statement.
The issue of cash gifts dogged the commission after it was revealed that Bill Ceverha, a member of the state Employee Retirement System board, took $100,000 from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, the state’s largest individual campaign donor.
Initially, Ceverha reported receiving a gift from Perry without identifying how much.
Permalink | | Categories: Campaign finance, Ethics, House
April 11, 2007
House avoids vote on so-called Hecht measure
House Speaker Tom Craddick shot down an amendment Wednesday that would have required judges to more quickly report their campaign contributions. Craddick ruled it was not germane to a bill that dealt with electronic filing of campaign finance reports.
Judges can raise money for 120 days after their election. But they often don’t have to report their contributors for several months after that 120-day period ends. The amendment by Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, said judges had to report within 15 days of the end of the 120-day contribution period.
The House appeared poised to support the amendment after voting against tabling it. But then came the point of order and, well, that was that.
The context: The Dallas Morning News reported last week that Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht received $16,000 in recent months from a political action committee funded largely by Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, even as the court prepared to hear a case involving Perry’s business.
Political action committees report their contributions monthly, which is how the contributions to Hecht came to light.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Campaign finance
