Candidate’s funding from billionaire relatives heats up this race west of Fort Worth
This story has been updated to reflect figures from the most recent campaign finance reports.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have poured into a state House race west of Fort Worth, highlighting a candidate’s family ties to West Texas billionaires who are a familiar presence in state politics.
Four Republican candidates are running to replace outgoing state Rep. Mike Lang and represent the sprawling House District 60 that stretches across eight predominately rural counties, including Hood and Palo Pinto.
The two front-runners, Cisco businessman Jon Francis and veterinarian and rancher Glenn Rogers, have secured high-profile endorsements from Texas politicians, with Francis earning U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s backing and Rogers endorsed by former U.S. Energy Secretary and Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
And on Thursday, Lang — the outgoing incumbent who is running for Hood County commissioner — threw his support behind Francis.
But a majority of Francis’ financial support has come from one family in particular: the Wilks.
Farris Wilks made billions with his brother Dan Wilks by building Fort Worth-based Frac-Tech Holdings into one of the largest fracking companies in North America.
They’ve backed conservative candidates in Tarrant County races. But this time, Farris Wilks and his wife, Jo Ann, each donated $250,000 to their son-in-law Francis’ campaign back in December. And Farris Wilks donated another $150,000 in February, according to the most recent campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
With no Democratic candidates running, the Republican primary will virtually assure the victorious candidate the seat come November. While some have seen the brawl as a distraction from the issues, others say it’s necessary context for voters to consider.
Early voting ends Feb. 28, and Election Day is March 3.
Fundraising fights
Francis, the director of finance for Wilks Development, a real estate development and investment company, has touted himself as an “outsider.” He has said he supports a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, and wants to pass constitutional carry and reduce wasteful spending.
He has far outraised his opponents, drawing in more than $800,000, according to campaign finance reports.
But his family’s support has become a point of contention.
Rogers has said he’ll be an advocate for rural Texas, and said he would prioritize public education, health care and economic development. And he has framed himself in opposition to Francis, saying that he will represent the entire district, “not just a few wealthy families.”
Meanwhile, Francis has sworn off accepting contributions from lobbyists or political action committees. Rogers’ largest donations from the over $250,000 he has raised have been from PACs, like the Texas Farm Bureau Friends of Agriculture Fund Inc. He said he felt Francis’ position was ironic.
“He didn’t have to use a PAC because he can get it directly. Normal candidates don’t have that option,” Rogers said, pointing to Francis’ involvement helping run Wilks-funded PACs.
Francis, who declined an interview request, stressed in a statement last week that his campaign has secured over 550 individual donors — “more than any other candidate running to serve in the Texas Legislature.”
“My opponent, Glenn Rogers, wants to talk about anything other than his terribly liberal positions and his opposition to our Republican Party of Texas priorities. It should come as no surprise he instead wants to whine about not having any grassroots support,” Francis wrote, going on to stress his commitment to standing with conservative grassroots Texans.
Many of the individual donations to Francis’ campaign have come from donors with the last name Wilks or who listed a Wilks company as their employer, according to campaign finance reports. Meanwhile, Francis has labeled Rogers the choice of “the Austin lobby.”
The other two candidates — former Mineral Wells Mayor Christopher Perricone and Granbury attorney Kellye SoRelle — know they can’t compete in fundraising, but they’re less concerned.
“I believe that money clouds the issues,” said Perricone, who has raised roughly $1,200. “Money also buys votes and buys endorsements. And that is unfortunate.”
Perricone said voters can look at his record as mayor, where he led the discussion to make Mineral Wells a sanctuary for “the unborn,” as proof that he has been “tested by the fire” and that he will “hold the line” on issues like abortion, taxpayer-funded lobbying, constitutional carry and more. But after filing a lawsuit against the city in November and facing a felony charge of aggravated perjury, it’s also a position he no longer holds.
“It will give them pause,” Perricone said of voters considering his tenure as mayor. “But I think that, in the end, the voters are smart. They’ll do some research and listen to the candidates.”
SoRelle, who has raised over $14,000, said she’s keeping the flood of mailers her opponents have sent to count them all out once the race is over. But the slew of political advertisements have become emblematic of larger concerns SoRelle has with the process, and echoes why she entered the race in the first place: to put in place safeguards against public corruption.
“I think the people get lost in this process,” SoRelle said. “The money they’re dumping into this is insane. And it’s actually really sad because that just tells you how much money controls Texas politics.”
Making the case to voters
Rogers’ issues with Francis’ family ties have spilled out onto the debate stage, where he declined to participate in an Eastland County candidate forum earlier this month after learning a Texas Scorecard contributor would be moderating the debate.
Texas Scorecard is the news site affiliated with Empower Texans, a conservative political advocacy group that made headlines this summer after its CEO released a secret recording that led to House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s downfall. The Wilks are some of Empower Texans’ biggest financial supporters, and Texans For Fiscal Responsibility, an offshoot of Empower Texans, had previously endorsed Francis in the race.
At the time, Rogers said in a statement that the event would be biased in favor of Francis and “it shows that the Wilks family will do anything to tilt this election in their favor.”
In a statement in response, Francis said Rogers’ decision was ultimately a disservice to voters who “deserve to see and hear the candidates before heading to the ballot box.”
But Francis’ opponents noted that a week later Francis didn’t attend a candidate forum on public education organized by the nonprofit Raise Your Hand Texas — which the Republican Party of Texas had discouraged GOP candidates from attending, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
While Rogers and Francis have continued to call out each other’s “lying” and “false attacks,” SoRelle said the confrontations are “a lot of political theater.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
