With (Very) Little Help to His Friends

With (Very) Little Help to His Friends

Governor Abbott said in remarks at a Texas Public Policy Foundation special session preview that he would be “establishing a list” to call out reluctant legislators who didn’t back him on special session items.  Ominously, he added, “No one gets to hide.” 
 
One way the Governor with a massive $41 million war chest can help his allies (or punish his enemies) is to lavish their campaign accounts with fund.  The evidence, though, doesn’t show generosity to individual candidates but rather an enrichment of the Republican Party more generally.  Texas Ethics Commission reports for “Texans For Greg Abbott” (the main fundraising arm of the Abbott campaign) show almost $100,000 in expenditures to various arms of the Republican Party between 2014 and July 2017.*
 
October 2014 (30 Day)             
Republican Party of Texas, $30,000
 
July 2015 (July Semi-Annual)        
Texas Federation of Republican Women PAC, $500
 
July 2016 (Semi-Annual)
Caldwell County Republican Party, $300
Republican Party of Texas, $50,000
  
January 2017 (Semi-Annual)
Associated Republicans of Texas, $7,500
Republican Party of Texas, $11,900
 
July 2017 (Semi-Annual)
Texas Federation of Republican Women PAC, $500
 
 
This is not to suggest that the Governor can’t help friends and allies by campaigning with them or lending his name or presence to a fundraiser.  He has said recently that he would be “involved” in the 2018 primaries.  But these numbers suggest that direct financial campaign assistance is small.
 
 
* These reports are massive, so .csv files were sorted and searched for “political” or “donation” or “contribution.”  Figures do not include hundreds of thousands of dollars given to charities like Family Crisis Center, The Salvation Army, Family Violence Prevention Services and more.