West Texas oil money flowing into Tarrant County legislative races

A couple of West Texas men are having a big impact on some local legislative races.

They are funneling money directly — and through a conservative group called Empower Texans, which has been working for years to make the Texas Legislature more conservative — to a handful of Tarrant County candidates.

The men: West Texas billionaire Farris Wilks, who also has made generous donations to Empower Texans, and Tim Dunn, a Midland oilman who has been the primary donor to Empower Texans for years.

The main beneficiaries: GOP state Reps. Jonathan Stickland of Bedford and Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, who face primary challengers, and Republican Bo French, who is challenging state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth.

“Tarrant County is home to some of the most conservative members, some of whom find themselves with Republican challengers,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, an associate professor of political science at the University of Houston. “The Empower Texans and Wilks family donations are designed to support the Republican Tea Party-backed incumbents.”

More than $100,000 was pumped into local candidates’ campaign coffers from these groups in the past month, according to the latest reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

“The donations are like most donations: part politics, part business. The Wilks family has business interests to protect in addition to an ideology that matches the more conservative wing of the Republican Party,” Rottinghaus said.

“One implicit political goal of these donations is to back [a] legislator who would vote to remove Joe Straus as Speaker of the House, a frequent target of Empower Texans who is accused of blocking conservative policies.”

Here’s a look at campaign finance donations between Jan. 1 and 21 that are flowing into Tarrant County legislative races, according to the most recent state reports.

House District 92

Stickland picked up $140,000 in new donations, which now gives him more than $300,000 in cash on hand. He picked up $5,000 from Dunn, $25,000 from the Empower Texans PAC and $28,000 from Wilks, a Cisco pastor who became a billionaire along with his brother, Dan, through the fracking industry. Stickland also received $7,500 from the Texas Home School Coalition PAC, which recently received $200,000 from the Wilks brothers.

Challenger Scott Fisher, a pastor, received $5,980 in new donations, giving him nearly $15,000 in cash on hand. Some of his larger donations: $2,500 from Charles Butt, CEO of H-E-B grocery stores; $500 from Cash America International, Inc. Multi-Candidate PAC; and $500 from the Todd Smith Campaign.

House District 94

Tinderholt gained $14,125 in new donations, pushing his cash on hand total to more than $100,000. Among his donations: $2,500 from Dunn, $2,000 from the Matt Krause Campaign and $1,000 from state Sen. Konni Burton, R-Colleyville.

Challenger Andrew Piel received nearly $16,000 in new donations, giving him more than $27,000 in the bank. He received $2,5000 from Butt, of the H-E-B grocery store chain; $2,000 from Gary Martin, an Arlington teacher; $1,000 from the Dallas Police Officers PAC; and $1,000 from the Association of Texas Professional Educators PAC.

House District 99

Geren still has the most money in the bank of any local legislative candidate — at nearly $700,000 — and added nearly $140,000 to his war chest in January. Among his largest donations: $15,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, $15,000 from TREPAC/Texas Association of Realtors, $10,000 from Texans for Education Reform PAC, $10,000 from Butt and $5,000 from H.R. Perot Jr. of Plano, chairman of the Hillwood development firm.

Challenger French received more than $82,000 last month, giving him nearly $180,000 in the bank. His largest donation, $50,000, came from the Empower Texans PAC. He also received $5,000 from the Texas Home School Coalition PAC.

Conservative battle

State Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, also received $25,000 from the Empower Texans PAC. He received more than $50,000 in January and has nearly $100,000 in cash on hand. His opponent, Wesley Nelson, has yet to file a campaign finance report.

A sizable chunk of money is going to Tarrant County candidates, but it’s also going to candidates throughout the state.

“This is a battle that is playing out across Texas, with Wilks and Empower Texans backing multiple movement conservative challengers like Bo French as well as working to protect several movement conservative incumbents like Stickland and Tinderholt,” said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “Reps. Stickland and Tinderholt represent two of the four top Texas House targets of the establishment conservative wing of the party while Rep. Geren represents one of the top three Texas House targets” of non-establishment conservatives.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "West Texas oil money flowing into Tarrant County legislative races."