Transparency USA · [email protected]

April 1, 2021 at 2:59 PM

Bloomberg is top NC state-level donor

Bloomberg is top NC state-level donor Friend, Michael Bloomberg — yes, that Michael Bloomberg — was the top individual donor in North Carolina state-level politics for the 2020 cycle. He contributed more than $8.7 million to th…

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March 30, 2021 at 6:59 PM

Making Sense of Lobbying Data

Making Sense of Lobbying Data What's with prospective income ranges, anyways? Friend, Last month, the bill attempting to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying appeared unlikely to make it out of the Texas House State Affairs Committ…

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March 27, 2021 at 2:59 PM

Top Viewed Names in Texas Politics

Top Viewed Names in Texas Politics Friend, When it comes to the money in Texas politics, these are the names that are generating the most interest on TUSA in 2021 so far. Some, like Governor…

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March 25, 2021 at 5:59 PM

Number of the Week: 1/2

Number of the Week: 1/2 This week marked the halfway point of the 87th Texas Legislative Session. After an unusually slow start due to COVID and the Snowmageddon delays, the session is now finally heating up.…

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March 19, 2021 at 1:14 PM

Number of the Week: 5.43%

Number of the Week: 5.43% In-district support accounted for as little as 5.43 percent of Dustin Burrows’ campaign finance contributions during the 2020 election cycle. It’s not unusual for long-serving legisl…

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March 16, 2021 at 6:59 PM

The money behind the Calendars Chair

The money behind the Calendars Chair Dustin Burrows appointment as the powerful Calendars Chair puts his donors in the spotlight. Friend, If the Calendars Committee is the gatekeeper for every bill that could become Texas …

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March 12, 2021 at 2:59 PM

All about Dallas lobbying

All about Dallas lobbying Friend, With taxpayer-funded lobbying expected to survive this legislative session, our third case study covers a prominent city that relies on tax revenue to lobby for its interests in Austin. 1.…

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February 25, 2021 at 6:59 PM

The money backing the Redistricting Chair

The money backing the Redistricting Chair Friend, A contentious, once-a-decade redrawing of Texas election boundaries. Delays pushing those decisions to a special session. This week, we're exploring the money behind the mos…

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February 20, 2021 at 2:14 PM

$2.80 to Cafe Del Rio

$2.80 to Cafe Del Rio According to TEC records for the 2020 election, Cafe Del Rio was paid a grand total of $2.80 with donor dollars, making it the smallest payee of the entire cycle.  In addition to Texas …

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February 17, 2021 at 8:59 PM

Is the taxpayer-funded lobbying ban DOA?

Is the taxpayer-funded lobbying ban DOA? Friend, In the Texas House, the controversial bill that would ban taxpayer-funded lobbying has a difficult road ahead. The first hurdle is to make it out of committee. Here's why th…

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February 12, 2021 at 8:59 PM

Targeted legislatures failed to flip

Targeted legislatures failed to flip Friend, In 2020, the NDRC (along with other Democratic organizations) targeted key state legislatures in a well-funded attempt to flip them blue.  With redistricting at stake, those efforts failed. He…

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February 11, 2021 at 7:59 PM

26

26 Although Texas Governor Greg Abbott was not on the ballot this election cycle, 26 individuals and PACs gave a quarter million dollars or more (topping out at $1.7 million) to his campaign account in the la…

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February 9, 2021 at 10:44 PM

Gov. Abbott's $46.9 million haul

Gov. Abbott's $46.9 million haul Friend, Governor Greg Abbott's campaign contributions were massive— over 15 percent of all Texas candidate contributions — in an election cycle when he was not up for election. We're taking…

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February 6, 2021 at 3:59 PM

Abbott's 5 emergency items

Abbott's 5 emergency items This week Governor Abbott announced five emergency items for the Texas Legislature to address, including expanding broadband access, restricting the ability of cities to defund the …

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February 4, 2021 at 4:29 PM

Lubbock's 2021 lobbying priorities

Lubbock's 2021 lobbying priorities Friend, With the RPT prioritizing the elimination of taxpayer-funded lobbying this session, here's a look at another Texas city that relies on the practice to advocate for their interests …

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January 29, 2021 at 7:42 PM

2000+ bills while lawmakers adjourn

2000+ bills while lawmakers adjourn So far, more than 2000 bills have been filed in the Texas House (1602 and counting) and the Texas Senate (533 and counting) for the 87th Texas Legislative Session. Today, b…

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January 26, 2021 at 7:59 PM

What You Care Most (and Least) About

What You Care Most (and Least) About Legislative survey results are here Friend, Here are topics our readers care about the most (and least!) for the Texas Legislative Session. Every response to this month's survey helped …

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January 22, 2021 at 2:01 PM

1337% increase for Dade Phelan

1337% increase for Dade Phelan Contributions to Dade Phelan skyrocketed from $335,648 to $4,822,941 in the final two months of 2020. The 1337 percent increase in donations came following his November announce…

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January 20, 2021 at 9:59 PM

Houston's $1.3 million lobbying agenda

Houston's $1.3 million lobbying agenda (plus new 2020 election cycle data) Friend, The City of Houston is one of the most prominent examples of taxpayer-funded lobbying in Texas. Here are the city's state-level objectives,…

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January 15, 2021 at 1:59 PM

$653,584,865

$653,584,865 NEW TEXAS LOBBYING DATA IS NOW AVAILABLE: Almost $653.6 million was spent lobbying Texas lawmakers during the 2020 election cycle. Private lobbying clients accounted for 85 percent of that total…

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January 12, 2021 at 7:59 PM

The PAC money backing Dade Phelan

The PAC money backing Dade Phelan The presumed Texas Speaker's new donors Friend, State House Rep. Dade Phelan is expected to be the next Texas House Speaker. Here's how Texas PACs responded to his announcement, in dollars…

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January 6, 2021 at 10:59 PM

Which would you rather see?

Which would you rather see? Help us make your legislative priorities more accessible. Friend, As Texas enters its 87th legislative session on January 12, Transparency USA will continue to bring you access to the latest dat…

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December 29, 2020 at 12:59 PM

Here's how you're impacting state politics.

Here's how you're impacting state politics. 3.8 million people used Transparency USA to reach their political goals. Friend, In 2020, the heightened interest in state politics felt, in many ways, as unprecede…

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December 17, 2020 at 5:59 PM

Three big stories from Texas politics

Three big stories from Texas politics Friend, As 2020 draws to a close, we’ve taken a look back at the year’s three biggest stories from the money in Texas politics. Here’s a quick look at those stories and …

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December 11, 2020 at 12:14 PM

The money backing Springer v. Luther

The money backing Springer v. Luther Friend, Early voting is open for Texas Senate District 30's election runoff. Between Shelley Luther's notorious defiance of lockdown orders for her hair salon and Drew Springer's vocal s…

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December 5, 2020 at 2:59 PM

14

14 Texas elections are not over. There are 14 days until the runoff election for Texas Senate District 30. This race features political newcomer Shelley Luther, who became known for opening her salon in defia…

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December 3, 2020 at 2:59 PM

Here's what top Texas lobbyists make

Here's what top Texas lobbyists make Friend, As we turn our attention to the upcoming legislative session, here are the highest paid lobbyists influencing lawmakers in Austin this year. You can see what these individuals m…

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December 1, 2020 at 8:52 PM

Can You Be Doxxed?

Can You Be Doxxed? Growing concerns from political donors Friend, If you donated to a political campaign or PAC this year, you might be wondering if you've got a target on your back for virtual harassment. …

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November 21, 2020 at 9:22 PM

Are casinos coming to Texas?

Are casinos coming to Texas? Sheldon Adelson, the chairman, CEO, and majority shareholder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, landed among the top ten donors in Texas this election cycle, with a $2.5 million …

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November 17, 2020 at 1:59 PM

Here's how we did on our predictions

Here's how we did on our predictions Plus all the Battleground race results Friend, In the Texas battleground races, incumbency turned out to be the key factor in predicting 2020's winners. Here are the res…

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November 13, 2020 at 3:59 PM

Does spending the most win elections?

Does spending the most win elections? 2020 Election Takeaways Friend, It still pays to be a big spender in Texas politics. In the 2020 General Election, 91 percent of winning candidates for the Texas State …

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November 6, 2020 at 1:05 PM

ZERO

ZERO Battleground 2020 results are in Despite tens of millions of dollars spent in the attempt to flip the Texas House to Democratic control, there was zero change to the balance of power. Texas House Rep. S…

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November 1, 2020 at 12:59 PM

$10,520,359

$10,520,359 The biggest donor this cycle The largest donor in Texas political giving is Charles C. Butt, Chairman and CEO of the H-E-B grocery store chain. Butt has donated more than $10.5 million to Texas c…

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October 31, 2020 at 12:59 PM

NOW SEARCHABLE: All pre-election data

NOW SEARCHABLE: All pre-election data Friend, All pre-election campaign finance data in Texas politics is now searchable. Here are the highlights. Whether you've been waiting for the eight-day-out reports to finalize your …

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October 24, 2020 at 1:59 PM

7 races that are too close to call

7 races that are too close to call Out of the 27 key races in the push for majority control of the Texas House, seven are simply too close to call, according to our campaign finance data. See those races — al…

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October 21, 2020 at 8:59 PM

Our predictions for every Battleground race

Our predictions for every Battleground race How close do you think we got? Friend, We used the available campaign finance data to predict which candidate will win each of the 27 Battleground 2020 races for the Texas House.…

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October 16, 2020 at 2:59 PM

$17,023,952 for Republicans in Q3

$17,023,952 for Republicans in Q3 The 689 Republican candidates in Texas raised more than $17 million in the third quarter of this year, while the 668 Democratic candidates raised $13,148,799 during the same …

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October 13, 2020 at 7:59 PM

Tight financial race for Stickland's seat

Tight financial race for Stickland's seat Friend, In the race for Texas House Rep. Jonathan Stickland's open seat, the newest campaign finance data suggests a closer race between Republican Jeff Cason and Democrat Jeff Whit…

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October 10, 2020 at 1:29 PM

NEW DATA: Texas contributions up 156%

NEW DATA: Texas contributions up 156% The latest campaign finance reports are in, and in just the last three months, more than $105 million has been donated to state-level candidates and political action comm…

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October 6, 2020 at 2:59 PM

2018 v. 2020 campaign finance (NEW REPORT)

2018 v. 2020 campaign finance (NEW REPORT) Which metrics favor Republicans or Democrats? Friend, In collaboration with Ballotpedia, we've taken a closer look at how the two major political party candidates for state legisl…

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October 3, 2020 at 1:59 PM

$38,154,024

$38,154,024 As of the most recent campaign finance reports, Governor Greg Abbott has $38,154,024 cash-on-hand. Although he’s not on the ballot this election cycle, Abbott has raised more than $27 million sinc…

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October 1, 2020 at 11:14 PM

Top PACs to watch in Texas House races

Top PACs to watch in Texas House races Friend, You already know that in the Republican-majority Texas Legislature, the chance that the House could flip blue in November is a big deal. Just how big? Here's how much money to…

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September 25, 2020 at 8:59 PM

$824,488

$824,488 In addition to the $824,888 donated to candidates in the Special Election for Texas Senate District 30, candidates Shelley Luther and Craig Carter have received notably outsized loans to their campai…

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September 15, 2020 at 2:14 PM

$6.2 Million To Oust Texas Republicans

$6.2 Million To Oust Texas Republicans Friend, One national Democratic super PAC is saying it plans to pump $15 million into what they see as key state-level legislative races around the country—$6.2 million of which is pro…

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September 11, 2020 at 1:14 PM

$292,729

$292,729 More money has been spent in the election for Texas First District Court of Appeals Place 5 than any other judicial race this election cycle. Republican Terry Adams and Democrat Amparo Guerra have sh…

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September 8, 2020 at 12:29 PM

The 2.32% margin race

The 2.32% margin race In the big Denton County matchup for control of Texas House District 65, most of the money in this race is coming from . . . anywhere but Denton County. Here are four takeaways from the HD 65 race, fea…

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August 28, 2020 at 12:44 PM

$2,920,456

$2,920,456 As we wrap up two weeks of national party conventions, here’s a look at what the state-level parties have spent so far for the 2020 elections. The Republican Party of Texas has $2,920,456 in expend…

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August 18, 2020 at 2:59 PM

Why Incumbents Took 97% of State Lege Primaries

Why Incumbents Took 97% of State Lege Primaries Friend, Despite increased demand for campaign finance reform to address the imbalance between incumbents and challengers, 97% of incumbents in state legislatures won their primaries this ele…

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August 11, 2020 at 9:43 PM

CORRECT LINK: How Redistricting Works

CORRECT LINK: How Redistricting Works The corrected link to the Redistricting article is below. (Sorry if you got sent to our donations page on the previous email. That's embarrassing.) How It Works: Texas Redis…

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  Transparency USA · [email protected]

August 7, 2020 at 12:59 PM

$1,750,000

$1,750,000 So far this election cycle, the City of Austin has spent somewhere between $920,000 and $1,750,000 of Texas taxpayers’ money to hire lobbyists.  Sincerely, The Transparency USA Team transparencyu…

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