How much do out-of-state donations affect Texas campaigns?

Think the Illuminati has a shady hold on Texas campaign finance? Think again. We’ve analyzed all of the state House of Representatives members’ campaign finance records from the last reporting cycle (January through July) to find just how much out-of-state (OOS) money plays into padding campaigns- and the results just may shock you. Out of the $2.8 million total sum of money donated to all Reps, a mere 2.2% came from out-of-state donors. Here we break down just how much money outside of the Lone Star State that your Reps are getting. 

Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton)

Total number of donations: 120

Total OOS donations: 10

% of OOS donations from all donation funds: 2.3% 

All of the out-of-state donations from Rep. Beckley’s campaign finance records indicate that the money was given through small contributions from individual donors. Surprise, surprise: No big PAC money found here. 

Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock)

Total number of donations: 116

Total OOS donations: 9

% of OOS donations from all donation funds: 4.5%

Rep. Talarico also had small donations from individuals out-of-state, with a majority coming from California. 

Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D-Houston)

Total number of donations: 74

Total OOS donations: 7

% of OOS donations from all donation funds: 11.7% 

The out-of-state donations to Rep. Rosenthal’s campaign came from all over the United States, and played no big part in adding up to his total amount raised. 

Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio)

Total number of donations: 78

Total OOS donations: 5

% of OOS donations from all donation funds: 9.1% 

Most of the out-of-state donations to Rep. Ray Lopez came from employee and laborers organizations and PACs. Still, a slim margin compared to the rest of campaign donations. 

Rep. Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth)

Total number of donations: 45

Total OOS donations: 4 

% of OOS donations from all donation funds: 1.5 % 

Rep. Krause received small donations from individuals, all who are located in California. However, these donations only made up a sliver of his near $57,000 donations overall. 

One interesting finding is that most of the money came from smaller individual donations rather than large PAC money. However, gambling interests such as The Chickasaw Nation have donated to both Democrats and Republicans indiscriminately. This analysis dispels any myth or conspiracy of out-of-state money impacting Texas Representatives’ campaign finance, showing that there is no foul play at hand. Sometimes a donation is just a donation, and it seems that the funding from these donations are practically negligible when a representative adds up all their donations from one reporting cycle.