The latest campaign finance news from The Texas Tribune.
The D.C.-based Texas Democratic Trust began as an attempt to revive flagging Democratic institutions in Texas and is now a critical source of funding for them and a host of consultants. That has made its director, Matt Angle, as powerful as most political bosses in other states. Maybe too powerful, his critics say. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TXdemocraticTrust004.png)
In November 2007, when the presidential campaign of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, raised more than $4.2 million in a single day, the grassroots-fueled "money bomb" became part of the national political conversation. But while the tactic was in greater use this cycle, the underwhelming showing of candidates who employed it reveals its limitations. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Ron_Paul_by_Gage_Skidmore001.jpg)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White's campaign is buying student newspaper ads that accuse his Republican opponent, Rick Perry, of playing politics with state universities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Screen_shot_2010-04-14_at_2.55.52_PM.png)
The runoff between John Frullo and Mark Griffin shares one important characteristic with the adjacent race in HD-83: It pits inside-the-tent Lubbock Republicans against a coalition of social and libertarian conservatives who are distinctly unhappy with government in Washington and Texas. In that frame, Frullo's the insurgent and Griffin represents the establishment. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/john_frullo_sign.jpg)
The first political ads bought by a corporation in Texas appeared in East Texas newspapers just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the state's ban on that kind of spending. They challenged the Republican bona fides of state Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville, a Democrat who switched parties in November and ran in a three-way GOP primary. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/kdr-panola.jpg)
The Republican primary is over, and now the GOP is lining up behind the governor — even the KBH loyalist who implored us to RETIRE RICK PERRY. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/110409_mattmackowiak001_go.jpg)
Use our simple new data application to scan $150 million in campaign fundraising and spending by the major-party candidates on today's ballot. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/cftotals.jpg)
Ideological purity is the big issue on March 2 in this South Texas district. Freshman state Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra, D-South Padre Island, touts her "moderate" approach and bipartisan tendencies, but her challenger insists, “The first thing we have to do is get rid of all the closet Republicans from the Democratic Party." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JMLozanoandTaraRiosYbarra.jpg)
The five major candidates in the governor's race spent $24 million from Jan. 22 to Feb. 20. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/112409_money001_jv.jpg)
The Texas Ethics Commission and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts are opening up more of their data to the public at no charge. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/4328269058_e6b19dcef3_o.jpg)
The six Texas congressional candidates who ended the year with $1 million or more on hand are incumbents. Only two of the candidates with the 20 biggest bank accounts are not. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/fec_screenshot.jpg)
The latest campaign finance reports show that both candidates raised more than $700,000 in January. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison spent more than any other candidate: $3.3 million. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/white_perry001.jpg)
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case will come to be seen as the third horseman of the apocalypse for lawyers, judges, and those who favor the direct election of state judges. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/david_schenck.jpg)
We've added a few new features to our campaign donations app, including the ability to filter the search results by the donation amount, year and donor type. Full Story
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case constitutes activist judicial arrogance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/fred1_.jpg)
The death penalty and DNA testing in a 16-year-old triple murder in the Texas Panhandle. The second debate between the three Republican candidates for governor. Charter schools are having a hard time hanging on to the employees that matter the most: Teachers. The possibilities and perils of a switch to electronic medical records. A rundown of top races. Who's giving to candidates, and how much? Social networks and politicians. Ballots: The slow reveal. And a new and highly requested feature makes its debut. The best of our best from January 23 to 29, 2010. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/012910_tribweek.jpg)
Some deep-pocketed trial lawyers didn't make the Twenty Who Gave Plenty list. Why not? Full Story
Houston homebuilder Bob Perry tops the list of the biggest donors to Texas candidates in the last half of 2009. McAllen developer Alonzo Cantu and Dallas businessman Ross Perot Sr. also gave large sums. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/012610_perry_butt.jpg)
The governor's race candidates fill their campaign coffers disproportionately from some rural areas, according to a per-capita calculation. Each Dallas resident gave $1 to the race in 2009, for example, while those in Blanco donated $57. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/govmaps_percapita.jpg)
Your afternoon reading: Full Story