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Out-Of-State Billionaires Pour Millions Into Texas Politics: Who’s Funding the State’s Agenda?

This year, out-of-state billionaires and different groups are pouring millions in Texas politicians, hoping to influence the politics in the state. Who are these billionaires and what are they pushing for?

According to an investigation by the Texas Monthly, the top five biggest out-of-state donors combined spent $33 million in the state. This is about 16 times more than what out-of-state donors contributed to Texas politics in 2020, with $2.1 million.

This year Gov. Greg Abbott received $6 million from the richest man in Pennsylvania, billionaire Jeff Yass, to push for vouchers in the state. Last year, Yass also gave Abbott $4 million for the same purpose.

Yass has spent $12.35 million in the state to push for vouchers. However, he is one million short of becoming the biggest out of state donor in the state.

The Monthly reported that Miriam Adelson from Nevada has spent $13.2 million in Texas races, mostly promoting legalized casino gambling in Texas. She was married to GOP mega donor and founder of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson.

Third on the list is George Soros, from New York, who has donated $5.28 million to Democratic candidates.

While the top three out-of-state donors are pushing for different things. It is true that most of the money coming from other states to influence Texas politics is going to school vouchers supporters. For example, Reed Hastings from California, has spent $1.2 million in Texas supporting pro-voucher Republicans. Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, usually supports Democratic candidates, however, he is, first above all things, a vouchers supporter.

Richard Uihlein of Illinois, another voucher supporter, spent $1million in donations to the pro-voucher AFC Victory Fund. Uinhlein was the second-largest GOP donor nationally in the 2018 midterm elections, spending almost $40 million. He also has backed many candidates who denied the results of the 2020 election.

Most of this money was used to back pro-voucher GOP candidates in the primaries, where Abbott managed to oust many of the Republican incumbents who voted against his education saving accounts measure.

In addition, some activist groups are also pouring millions supporting pro-voucher GOP candidates. In March, the organization Open Secrets found that American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy group, spent more than $3.5 million on state legislative races in the primaries. AFC Found, a PAC associated with the group, received $7 million from Yaas since it launched last year.

In addition, former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, from Michigan, also donated $1 million to the PAC. She chaired the American Federation for Children until 2017, when she joined former President Donald Trump’s administration.

In addition, AFC recently began sending mailers supporting pro-vouchers GOP candidates without mentioning vouchers or the candidate’s party.

Texas Monthly senior editor Alexandra Samuels said that, while the’re are some restrictions in the state when it comes to donors, some races do not have limits.

“There aren’t contribution limits for most offices and personal spending made by an individual or a PAC that’s not coordinated with a candidate is not considered a contribution,” she said in an interview with the Texas Standard.

“So, for instance, if an individual wants to spend $100,000 on billboards for a candidate he or she supports and that person never coordinated that expenditure with the campaign, then it’s not considered a campaign contribution at the state or the federal level.”

RA Staff
RA Staff
Written by RA News staff.

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