This report identifies and ranks Texas’ top general-purpose political action committees (PACs) in the 2006 election cycle. These rankings are based on the total amount of expenditures that PACs electronically reported to the Texas Ethics Commission. During the two-year election cycle ending in December 2006, 1,132 general-purpose PACs reported expenditures.¹ The number of PACs participating in the 2006 cycle exceeded that of any other election over the past decade. The total 2006 cycle spending by these PACs exceeded $99 million. This marked a 44 percent increase from the $69 million that such PACs spent in the previous cycle.

Several factors fed unprecedented PAC spending in 2006. PAC spending peaks in gubernatorial election years, when PACs dig deep to influence the elections of a large number of statewide officeholders. The 2006 gubernatorial race was exceptional—with four well-funded candidates who raised a combined $42.3 million.² PAC spending in the 2006 cycle handily outstripped the $85 million spent in the preceding gubernatorial election cycle in 2002.

 

Texas PAC Spending Spikes In Gubernatorial Election Years

 

Election Cycle	No. of Active PACs	PAC Spending	Spending Increase From Previous Cycle	Spending Increase (%)
1996	911	$43,082,546	NA	NA
1998*	893	$51,543,820	$8,461,274	20%
2000	865	$53,996,975	$2,453,155	5%
2002*	964	$85,320,226	$31,323,251	58%
2004	850	$68,904,524	($16,415,702)	(19%)
2006*	1,132	$99,167,646	$30,263,122	44%

         *Gubernatorial election year.

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¹The largest PAC expenditures typically are contributions to candidates or other PACs; PACs also spend money on overhead and other expenses—which also are included here.

² This falls short of the $57 million that banker Tony Sanchez contributed to his own Democratic campaign for governor in 2002.