Todd Staples needs to convince GOP primary voters he’s conservative, and his recently announced finance team won't help.
Members of the Staples finance team have supported lawmakers in the past. During the 2013 legislative session lawmakers receiving money from Staples’ finance team - some Democrat and some Republican - scored an average of 55% on conservative scorecards. The Republicans they gave to averaged an anemic 66%.
| Score | Amount | % of total | Lawmakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | $36000 | 11.0235690029488% | 6 |
| B | $38000 | 11.6359895031126% | 6 |
| C | $98348 | 30.1151656750558% | 16 |
| D | $40000 | 12.2484100032764% | 7 |
| F | $114225 | 34.9768658156063% | 35 |
Self-proclaimed Obama voter Paul Burka and Bob Garrett were media members who played up Staples’ finance team announcement as impressive. It’s hard to figure why, since the finance team are far from high-rollers. A review of Texas Ethics Commission filings reveals that during 2012 Staples finance team members giving to elected members of the Texas House and Senate totaled less than $350,000. Perhaps Burka and Garrett were giving an obligatory carrot to the Lt. Gov. Candidate they view as most liberal.
Current consensus has David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick far ahead of the field vying to become the next Lt. Governor of Texas.
Paul Burka on Staples money men
DMN article
*Names used to compile this list were obtained from the Staples campaign website and a Robert T. Garrett Dallas Morning News article promoting the rollout. Data contained in this post was collected by searching the TEC database for donations made during the year 2012. Conservative indexes averaged to compile this report include Texas Eagle Forum, Young Conservatives of Texas and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.
List of donors according to Todd Staples release:
Gene Powell (Powell, Gene of San Antonio)
David Zachry (Zachry, David of San Antonio)
Dan Allen Hughes (Hughes, Dan of Beeville/San Antonio)
Phil Adams (Adams, Phil of Bryan College Station)
Judy Morgan (Morgan, Judy of Texarkana)
Harold Hahn (Hahn, Harold of El Paso)
Erle Nye (Nye, Erle of Dallas)
Ardon Moore (Moore, Ardon of Fort Worth)
Johnny Baker (Baker, Johnny of Houston)
Curtis Mewbourne (Mewbourne, Curtis of Tyler)
Jim Perkins (Perkins, James of Tyler)
Margaret Perkins (Perkins, Margaret of Tyler)