Rich Suitor Jilted:

January 11, 2007

Voters Rebuked Texas’ Biggest PAC

• 71 Percent of TLR’s Cash Went To Losers

• Republicans Pocketed 70 Percent of $4 Million Total

• 26 Business Donors Supplied 75 Percent of TLR’s Money

By the time of the November 2006 election, Texas’ biggest political action committee —Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR)—had spent $3,890,350 to influence the outcome. These expenditures tripled what it spent in 1996.

TLR’s Burgeoning Political Spending

Election Cycle	TLR PAC Contributions	PAC Ranking
1996	$1.3 million	3
1998	$1.2 million	5
2000	$1.4 million	5
2002	$2.4 million	4
2004	$3.1 million	1
2006*	$3.9 million*	?
TOTAL:	$13.3 million

TLR made two small contributions totaling $1,225 to multi-candidate Republican PACs. Meanwhile it gave more than $3.8 million to individual state candidates. Losing candidates accounted for 71 percent of TLR’s money. TLR also gave Republicans 70 percent of its money (down a hair from 73 percent in 1996).

Senator Frank Madla (D-San Antonio) single-handedly doubled the Democrats’ share of TLR’s money from the 15 percent they would have received without Madla to 30 percent they received with him. TLR gave Madla—first elected to the legislature when Richard M. Nixon was president—$713,969.

This was not enough to stop primary voters from retiring Madla, who died in a tragic house fire in November.

The special relationship between the GOP and TLR has been rewarding. Since its 1994 founding, TLR has steered millions of business dollars to Republican officials. They, in turn, have severely limited the rights of injured Texans to recover damages from businesses in state courts—just what the doctor ordered.

The vast majority of TLR’s money comes from a tiny business elite with a keen interest in limiting legal liabilities. Just eight wealthy business people gave TLR $2.3 million in the 2006 cycle, accounting for 59 percent of the $3.9 million that TLR raised.

The 26 business interests listed in the accompanying table provided 75 percent of TLR’s funds. Twenty of these big donors made their fortunes in just four liability-heavy industries: construction, finance, real estate and energy.

Republicans Got 70 Percent
of TLR’s Contributions

Party	TLR Total In ’06 Cycle	Share	Number of Recipients	Average Amount
REP	$2,664,942	70%	114	$23,37
DEM	$1,168,161	30%	19	$61,482
TOTAL:	$3,833,103	100%	133	$28,820

 

Top TLR PAC Donors in 2006
(Accounting for $2.9 Million—75 Percent of Its Total)

TLR gave half of its money to 98 incumbent officials, 41 percent to 24 open-seat candidates and 9 percent to 11 challengers. Although incumbents accounted for the greatest share of TLR’s money, TLR’s average contribution to incumbents fell short of its average expenditure on challengers and open-seat candidates. While these latter candidates typically face tougher odds than incumbents, they attract huge amounts of special-interest money because they can shift the balance of power in Austin if they do prevail.

TLR Contributions By Incumbency Status

Incumbency  Status	TLR Contributions	Share of TLR's Money	Number of Recipients	Average Contribution
Incumbent	$1,918,311	50%	98	$19,575
Open Seat	$1,565,650	41%	24	$65,235
Challenger	$349,142	9%	11	$31,740
TOTALS:	$3,833,103	100%	133	$28,820

TLR’s most strident partisanship surfaces in these balance-shifting races. Open-seat candidates accounted for 50 percent of all the money that TLR gave to Republicans, yet just 24 percent of its Democratic money. Similarly, challengers accounted for 11 percent of TLR’s Republican money but just 5 percent of what it gave Democrats. In contrast, incumbents pocketed 95 percent of TLR’s Democratic money but just 35 percent of what it gave to Republicans.

Partisan Breakout of TLR Contributions By Incumbency Status

Incumbency Status Incumbents Challengers Open Seats TOTALS:

Republicans TLR Total TLR Share No. of Candidates Average Amount $1,021,342 38% 84 $12,159 $1,339,457 50% 21 $63,784 $304,142 11% 9 $33,794 $2,664,941 100% 114 $23,377

Democrats TLR Total TLF Share No. of Candidates Average Amount $896,969 77% 14 $64,069 $226,192 19% 3 $75,397 $45,000 4% 2 $22,500 $1,168,161 100% 19 $61,482

TLR’s heavy spending on fiercely contested races that held at least some promise of increasing the GOP’s muscle in Austin slammed into an electorate that clipped the wings of the Republican majority—at least in the legislature. As a result, losing candidates burned up $2.7 million of TLR’s money, or a remarkable 71 percent of its total political investment.

TLR Contributions By Outcome

Outcome	TLR Contributions	% of TLR's Money	Number of  Recipients	Average Contribution
Losers	$2,722,362	71%	30	$90,745
Winners	$1,087,241	28%	95	$11,445
No '06 Election	$23,500	1%	8	$2,938
TOTALS:	$3,833,103	100%	133	$28,820

These overall trends are borne out in the accompanying tables, which list the Democratic and Republican legislative candidates who attracted the heaviest TLR funding. The list of TLR’s favorite Democratic legislative candidates contains six incumbent winners. The comparable GOP roster, by contrast, contains just two victorious incumbents.

TLR’s Top Democratic Legislative Races

TLR Amount In ’06 Cycle	Candidate	Seat	Incumbency Status	2006 Outcome	Primary %	General %	Runoff %
$713,969	Frank Madla	S-19	Incumbent	Lost primary	43	-	-
$161,192	Laura M. Salinas	H-143	Open seat	Lost special	0	26	39
$60,000	Eddie Lucio III	H-38	Open seat	Won	51	64	-
$46,000	Chuck Hopson	H-11	Incumbent	Won	100	51	-
$30,000	David Farabee	H-69	Incumbent	Won	100	58	-
$30,000	Mercurio Martinez	H-42	Challenger	Lost primary	32	-	42
$27,500	Patrick Rose	H-45	Incumbent	Won	100	60	-
$21,000	Mark Strama	H-50	Incumbent	Won	100	62	-
$20,000	Robby Cook	H-17	Incumbent	Won	100	49	-
$15,000	Steve Brown	H-27	Challenger	Lost primary	40	-	-
$15,000	Mark Homer	H-3	Incumbent	Won	100	58	-

 

TLR’s Top Republican Legislative Races

TLR Amount In ’06 Cycle	Candidate	Seat	Incumbency Status	2006 Outcome	Primary %	General %	Runoff %
$434,487	Bill Welch	H-47	Open seat	Lost	39	46	55
$255,049	Jim Landtroop	H-85	Open seat	Lost	52	48	-
$253,349	Charles Anderson	H-56	Incumbent	Won	100	79	-
$243,203	Joe Nixon	S-7	Open seat	Lost primary	9	-	-
$205,125	George Antuna	H-118	Open seat	Lost	49	44	81
$150,562	Michael Esparaza	H-35	Challenger	Lost	100	42	-
$91,366	Seaman Gene	H-32	Incumbent	Lost	100	46	-
$83,015	Talmadge Heflin	H-149	Challenger	Lost	100	46	-
$79,925	Betty Brown	H-4	Incumbent	Won	53	59	-
$72,545	Martha Wong	H-134	Incumbent	Lost	100	43	-
$50,000	Kent Grusendorf	H-94	Incumbent	Lost primary	42	-	-
$50,000	Glenn Hegar	S-18	Open seat	Won	55	79	-

 

TLR spent $3.6 million—or 95 percent of its total—on 115 legislative candidates. It spent $122,500 (3 percent) on 15 judicial candidates, including five Supreme Court justices. Finally, it spent $64,270 (2 percent) on three non-judicial statewide candidates (Governor Rick Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth  Jones).

TLR’s judicial contributions are noteworthy given that it is promoting judicial-selection reform. Such a reform would stop Texas judges from sullying their reputations by relying on the very kind of special-interest campaign money that has always been TLR’s stock in trade.■

TLR Contributions By Office

Office	TLR Contributions	% of TLR ’s Money	Number of Recipients	Average Contribution
House	$2,559,496	67%	93	$27,521
Senate	$1,086,837	28%	22	$49,402
Judicial*	$122,500	3%	15	$8,167
Statewide*	$64,270	2%	3	$21,423
TOTALS:	$3,833,103	100%	133	$28,820

TLR Amount (’06 Cycle)	Candidate	Party	Office-District	Incumbency Status	2006 Outcome
$713,969	Frank Madla	D	Senate-19	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$434,487	Bill Welch	R	House-47	Open Seat	Lost
$255,049	Jim Landtroop	R	House-85	Open Seat	Lost
$253,349	Charles Anderson	R	House-56	Incumbent	Won
$243,203	Joe Nixon	R	Senate-7	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$205,125	George Antuna	R	House-118	Open Seat	Lost
$161,192	Laura M. Salinas	D	House-143	Open Seat	Lost Special
$150,562	Michael Esparaza	R	House-35	Challenger	Lost
$91,366	Gene Seaman	R	House-32	Incumbent	Lost
$83,015	Talmadge Heflin	R	House-149	Challenger	Lost
$79,925	Betty Brown	R	House-4	Incumbent	Won
$72,545	Martha Wong	R	House-134	Incumbent	Lost
$60,000	Eddie Lucio III	D	House-38	Open Seat	Won
$50,000	Kent Grusendorf	R	House-94	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$50,000	Glenn Hegar	R	Senate-18	Open Seat	Won
$50,000	Don Willett	R	Supreme Court	Incumbent	Won
$49,204	Kevin Christian	R	House-71	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$46,000	Chuck Hopson	D	House-11	Incumbent	Won
$37,829	Bill Keffer	R	House-107	Incumbent	Lost
$36,900	Ben Bentzin	R	House-48	Challenger	Lost
$36,500	Toby Goodman	R	House-93	Incumbent	Lost
$33,889	Patricia Harless	R	House-126	Open Seat	Won
$33,270	Rick Perry	R	Governor	Incumbent	Won
$30,000	David Dewhurst	R	Lt. Governor	Incumbent	Won
$30,000	David Farabee	D	House-69	Incumbent	Won
$30,000	Mercurio Martinez	D	House-42	Challenger	Lost Primary
$27,500	Patrick Rose	D	House-45	Incumbent	Won
$25,000	Tom Craddick	R	House-82	Incumbent	Won
$21,000	Mark Strama	D	House-50	Incumbent	Won
$20,165	Donald Margo	R	Senate-29	Challenger	Lost
$20,000	Robby Cook	D	House-17	Incumbent	Won
$20,000	David Swinford	R	House-87	Incumbent	Won
$17,500	Jim Murphy	R	House-133	Open Seat	Won
$16,000	Tony Goolsby	R	House-102	Incumbent	Won
$15,883	Larry Phillips	R	House-62	Incumbent	Won
$15,500	Sid Miller	R	House-59	Incumbent	Won
$15,000	Steve Brown	D	House-27	Challenger	Lost Primary
$15,000	Mike Hamilton	R	House-19	Incumbent	Won
$15,000	Mark Homer	D	House-3	Incumbent	Won
$14,925	Anna Mowery	R	House-97	Incumbent	Won
$12,000	Jim Pitts	R	House-10	Incumbent	Won
$10,000	Norma Chavez	D	House-76	Incumbent	Won
$10,000	David M. Medina	R	Supreme Court	Incumbent	Won
$10,000	Tommy Merritt	R	House-7	Incumbent	Won
$10,000	Dan Patrick	R	Senate-7	Open Seat	Won
$7,500	Dan Flynn	R	House-2	Incumbent	Won
$7,500	Bailey Moseley	R	Appeals Court-6	Open Seat	Won
$5,000	Bob Deuell	R	Senate-2	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Craig Estes	R	Senate-30	Incumbent	NA
$5,000	Dawn Estes	R	Dist. Judge-192	Open Seat	Lost
$5,000	Nathan Hecht	R	Supreme Court	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Angelica Hernandez	D	Dist. Judge-94	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$5,000	Juan ‘Chuy’ Hinojosa	D	Senate-20	Incumbent	NA
$5,000	Wallace Jefferson	R	Supreme Court	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Phil Johnson	R	Supreme Court	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Steve Ogden	R	Senate-5	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	J. Rolando Olvera	R	Dist. Judge-138	Open Seat	Lost
$5,000	Bob Pemberton	R	Appeals Court-3	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	David Puryear	R	Appeals Court-3	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Alan Waldrop	R	Appeals Court-3	Incumbent	Won
$5,000	Will Wilson	R	Appeals Court-3	Open Seat	Lost
$4,500	Lee Parsley	R	Appeals Court-3	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$4,000	Phil King	R	House-61	Incumbent	Won
$3,500	Wayne Christian	R	House-9	Challenger	Won
$3,500	Joe Crabb	R	House-127	Incumbent	Won
$3,000	Roy Blake	R	House-9	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$3,000	Vicki Truitt	R	House-98	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Joe 'Jody' Anderson	R	House-12	Challenger	Lost
$2,500	Kip Averitt	R	Senate-22	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Jimmie Aycock	R	House-54	Open Seat	Won
$2,500	Dan Branch	R	House-108	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Brandon Creighton	R	House-16	Open Seat	Won
$2,500	Drew Darby	R	House-72	Challenger	Won
$2,500	Robert L. Duncan	R	Senate-28	Incumbent	NA
$2,500	Charlie Geren	R	House-99	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Kelly Hancock	R	House-91	Open Seat	Won
$2,500	Chris Harris	R	Senate-9	Incumbent	NA
$2,500	Will Hartnett	R	House-114	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Charlie Howard	R	House-26	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Kyle Janek	R	Senate-17	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Susan King	R	House-71	Open Seat	Won
$2,500	Mike Krusee	R	House-52	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Thomas Latham	R	House-101	Challenger	Won
$2,500	Eddie Lucio Jr.	D	Senate-27	Incumbent	NA
$2,500	Jane Nelson	R	Senate-12	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Diane Patrick	R	House-94	Challenger	Won
$2,500	Kel G. Seliger	R	Senate-31	Incumbent	NA
$2,500	Florence Shapiro	R	Senate-8	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	Jeff Wentworth	R	Senate-25	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	John Whitmire	D	Senate-15	Incumbent	Won
$2,500	'Tommy' Williams	R	Senate-4	Incumbent	NA
$2,500	John Zerwas	R	House-28	Open Seat	Won
$2,000	Leo Berman	R	House-6	Incumbent	Won
$2,000	Scott Campbell	R	House-72	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$1,750	Carter Casteel	R	House-73	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$1,500	Dwayne Bohac	R	House-138	Incumbent	Won
$1,500	Linda Harper-Brown	R	House-105	Incumbent	Won
$1,500	James Keffer	R	House-60	Incumbent	Won
$1,500	Armando Martinez	D	House-39	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Byron Cook	R	House-8	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Myra Crownover	R	House-64	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Dianne Delisi	R	House-55	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Mary Denny	R	House-63	Incumbent	NA
$1,000	Rodney Ellis	D	Senate-13	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Patrick Haggerty	R	House-78	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Peggy Hamric	R	Senate-7	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$1,000	Fred Hill	R	House-112	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Delwin Jones	R	House-83	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Elizabeth A. Jones	R	Railroad Com.	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Jodie Laubenberg	R	House-89	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	John Otto	R	House-18	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Elvira Reyna	R	House-101	Incumbent	Lost Primary
$1,000	Mike Villarreal	D	House-123	Incumbent	Won
$1,000	Beverley Woolley	R	House-136	Incumbent	Won
$500	Fred Brown	R	House-14	Incumbent	Won
$500	Bill Callegari	R	House-132	Incumbent	Won
$500	Glenda Dawson	R	House-29	Incumbent	Won
$500	Joe Driver	R	House-113	Incumbent	Won
$500	Rob Eissler	R	House-15	Incumbent	Won
$500	Harvey Hilderban	R	House-53	Incumbent	Won
$500	Ruben Hope	R	Dist. Judge-284	Open Seat	Lost Primary
$500	Carl Isett	R	House-84	Incumbent	Won
$500	Jim Jackson	R	House-115	Incumbent	Won
$500	Gleanie Morrison	R	House-30	Incumbent	Won
$500	Rob Orr	R	House-58	Incumbent	Won
$500	Ken Paxton	R	House-70	Incumbent	Won
$500	Debbie Riddle	R	House-150	Incumbent	Won
$500	Wayne Smith	R	House-128	Incumbent	Won
$500	Joe Straus	R	House-121	Incumbent	Won
$500	Larry Taylor	R	House-24	Incumbent	Won
$500	Corbin Van Arsdale	R	House-130	Incumbent	Won
$500	G.E. ‘Buddy’ West	R	House-81	Incumbent	Won
$500	Bill Zedler	R	House-96	Incumbent	Won
$3,833,102	TOTAL

 

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