MRT: NYT Mag on Dunn & Wilks // Driver ID’d in Deer Park Fire // Siete Foods Bought by PepsiCo for $1.2B // TXLEGE to Tackle Insurance Rates

MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak

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WEDNESDAY || 10/2/24

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• TOP NEWS

“How two billionaire preachers remade Texas politics,” Nww York Times Magazine's Ava Kofman — “Last December, Sid Miller, the Texas commissioner of agriculture, posted a photo of himself brandishing a double-barrel shotgun on X and invited his followers to join him on a “RINO hunt.” Miller had taken to stumping in the March primary election against incumbents he deemed to be Republicans in Name Only. Not long after that, he received a text message from one of his targets, a state representative named Glenn Rogers. “You are a bought and paid for, pathetic narcissist,” it began. “If you had any honor, you would challenge me, or any of my Republican colleagues to a duel.”

Rogers, a 68-year-old rancher and grandfather of five, represents a rural district west of Fort Worth. He was proud to serve in a Legislature that, as he told me recently, “couldn’t be more conservative if it tried.” Since entering office in 2021, he co-authored legislation that allowed Texans to carry handguns without a permit, supported the Heartbeat Act that grants citizens the right to sue abortion providers and voted to give the police the power to arrest suspected undocumented migrants in schools and hospitals. In a Statehouse packed with debate-me agitators, he was comparatively soft-spoken — a former professor of veterinary medicine with an aversion to grandstanding. He was not in the habit of firing off salvos, as he had to Miller, that ended with “Kiss My Ass!"

But the viciousness of the primary season had been getting to him. Nearly a year before the March elections, ads began to appear in Rogers’s district castigating him not simply as a RINO but as a closet liberal who supported gun control and Shariah law. (Rogers was especially peeved by an ad that photoshopped his signature white cowboy hat onto a headshot of Joe Biden.) Some of the attacks originated from his challenger’s campaign, while others were sponsored by organizations with grassroots-sounding names, like Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, Texas Gun Rights and Texas Family Project. By the time voters headed to the polls, they could have been forgiven for thinking that Rogers had disappointed a suite of conservative groups.

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In reality, Rogers had disappointed two men: Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, billionaires who have made their fortunes in the oil industry. Over the past decade, the pair have built the most powerful political machine in Texas — a network of think-tanks, media organizations, political-action committees and nonprofits that work in lock step to purge the Legislature of Republicans whose votes they can’t rely on. Cycle after cycle, their relentless maneuvering has pushed the Statehouse so far to the right that consultants like to joke that Karl Rove couldn’t win a local race these days. Brandon Darby, the editor of Breitbart Texas, is one of several conservatives who has compared Dunn and Wilks to Russian oligarchs. “They go into other communities and unseat people unwilling to do their bidding,” he says. “You kiss the ring or you’re out.”

Like the Koch brothers, the Mercer family and other conservative billionaires, Dunn and Wilks want to slash regulations and taxes. Their endgame, however, is more radical: not just to limit the government but also to steer it toward Christian rule. “It’s hard to think of other megafunders in the country as big on the theocratic end of the spectrum,” says Peter Montgomery, who oversees the Right Wing Watch project at People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy group.

Texas, which has few limits on campaign spending, is home to a formidable army of donors. Lately Dunn has outspent them all. Since 2000, he and his wife have given more than $29 million to candidates and PACs in Texas. Wilks and his wife, who have donated to many of the same PACs as Dunn, have given $16 million. Last year, Dunn and his associated entities provided two thirds of the donations to the state Republican Party.

The duo’s ambitions extend beyond Texas. They’ve poured millions into “dark money” groups, which do not have to disclose contributors; conservative-media juggernauts (Wilks provided $4.7 million in seed capital to The Daily Wire, which hosts “The Ben Shapiro Show”); and federal races. Dunn’s $5 million gift to the Make America Great Again super PAC in December made him one of Donald Trump’s top supporters this election season, and he has quietly begun to invest in efforts to influence a possible second Trump administration, including several linked to Project 2025.

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Rogers believes he provoked the ire of the Dunn and Wilks machine for two reasons. He refused to support a school-voucher bill that would funnel taxpayer dollars to private schools, and he voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, one of the machine’s most powerful allies. (Paxton, who did not respond to requests for comment, was impeached in part for misusing his office to help a friend under federal investigation.)

Since neither of these issues particularly excited voters, many attacks focused on distorting Rogers’s record on immigration instead. When his wife joined a text group for the spouses of incumbents under siege (they called themselves the Badass Babes), she saw that her husband was not the only opponent of vouchers who had supposedly given Democrats “control of the Texas border.” The mailers sent across the state were identical, with only the names and faces swapped out.

The onslaught worked. Rogers lost his seat by 27 percentage points, and more than two dozen Statehouse candidates backed by the two billionaires prevailed this spring. These challengers received considerable support from Dunn-and-Wilks-backed allies like Miller, the agricultural commissioner, as well as from G.O.P. heavyweights like Gov. Greg Abbott. “You cannot overstate the absolute earthquake that was the March 5 primary,” says Matt Mackowiak, a political consultant and chairman of the Travis County G.O.P." NYT Mag

AP: “Officials identify driver who crashed into a Texas pipeline and sparked a 4-day fire” AP

AAS: “Siete Foods goes big time; PepsiCo announces plans to buy Austin-born food company” AAS ($)

HOU CHRON: “Tony Buzbee accuses Sean Diddy Combs of assaulting 9-year-old boy” Houston Chronicle ($)

HOU CHRON: “Frontier will have direct flights from Houston to Los Angeles, Miami” Houston Chronicle ($)

HOU CHRON: “Texas lawmakers say they want to tackle soaring insurance rates” Houston Chronicle ($)

HOUSTON LANDING: “Houston schools crack down on illegal suspensions following Landing investigation” Houston Landing

FW REPORT: “How does the city sustain growth? A strong Fort Worth ISD, business leaders say” FW Report

THE HILL: “Democrats see signs of growing momentum in Texas Senate race” The Hill

HOU CHRON: “Former anti-Trump congressman launches GOP group for Colin Allred” Houston Chronicle ($)

TX TRIB: “In South Texas congressional race, Monica De La Cruz and Michelle Vallejo spar over health care” Texas Tribune

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE   

 > TX TRIB: "Bernie Sanders tells Texas progressives to back Harris, says Allred win would “make all the difference”" TX TRIB
 > TX TRIB: "Texas prison system’s staffing crisis and outdated technology endanger guards and inmates" TX TRIB
 > TX TRIB: "The largest carbon capture project in the U.S. could be in West Texas. Do residents want it?" TX TRIB
 > AP: "A Texas man is executed for fatally stabbing twin teenage girls in 1989" AP
 > TPR: "Report: 'Staffing crisis' in Texas prisons makes staff, inmates and public less safe" TPR
 > FWST: "Mother of woman who died in Tarrant County jail brings daughter’s ashes to commissioners" FWST
 > SAEN: "Mother of slain daughter launches nonprofit to help family violence victims" SAEN
 > FWST: "Russian hacker indicted in cyberattacks against North Texas businesses" FWST
 > DMN: "‘Lady al-Qaeda’ files lawsuit alleging physical, sexual abuse at Fort Worth federal prison" DMN
 > HOU CHRON: "A port strike is now underway. Here's what Houstonians should know." HOU CHRON
> THE TEXAN: "House Democrats Issue Letter Urging Removal of LGBT Provisions in NDAA" THE TEXAN
 > SAEN: "Construction starts on centerpiece of Alamo’s $550 million makeover" SAEN
 > SA REPORT: "A 2 year check-in: How CPS Energy’s efficiency program is helping reduce demand" SA REPORT
 > AAS: "Defense rests in Austin police officer Christopher Taylor's trial" AAS
 > THE TEXAN: "Dock Workers Strike Across Country, Port of Houston Faces Shutdown" THE TEXAN
 > TPR: "Port of Houston dockworkers begin strike over wages and automation" TPR
 > SA REPORT: "Get to know the candidates on San Antonio’s ballot with our 2024 voter guide" SA REPORT
 > VALLEY CENTRAL: "Day 6 of El Gallito trial reveals life insurance policies" VALLEY CENTRAL
> SA REPORT: "Helping businesses become sustainability champions boosts San Antonio’s economy" SA REPORT

• EXTRA POINTS   

Last night's Texas sports scores:
  > MLB: Tigers 3, Astros 1 (1-0)

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
  > 1:32pm: MLB: Tigers at Astros (ABC)
  > 7:30pm: MLS: New England at Houston
  > 9:30pm: MLS: Austin at Portland
  > 9:30pm: MLS: Dallas at San Jose

HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros, who are playoff tested, won't panic after loss" Houston Chronicle ($)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks to miss time with knee infection" DMN ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas' Quintrevion Wisner shines in run game after fumbles send starter to the bench" AAS ($)

DALLAS MAVERICKS: "Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has left calf contusion, will be re-evaluated in one week" DMN ($)

TEXAS MEN'S BASKETBALL: "Texas basketball prepping for new season: 5 things we saw in open practice" AAS ($)

NHL EXPANSION / HOUSTON: "NHL to Houston: Tilman Fertitta seeks expansion team at 'right price'" Houston Chronicle ($)

WNBA / HOUSTON: "Tilman Fetitta interested in landing WNBA franchise" Houston Chronicle ($)