Texas gaining stature as a key presidential primary state | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

With its bottomless pit of campaign cash and unaccustomed stature as a potentially influential primary state, Texas is rapidly becoming a hot destination for aspiring Republican presidential contenders.

Two have Texas addresses and an inside track as favorite sons — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Rick Perry. And three others — Jeb Bush, Rand Paul and Austin-born Carly Fiorina — can claim Texas ties.

But for everyone in a field that could swell to 10 or more by the time the 2016 presidential season officially arrives in January, Texas has an irresistible allure because of its stable of wealthy donors, its pool of professional political talent and — for the first time in decades — its relatively early spot on the primary calendar.

The Lone Star State is the biggest of at least a half-dozen states expected to hold primaries March 1, offering a bonanza of delegates. Those who make it that far after the opening rounds in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will get a huge boost toward the Republican nomination or will limp to the sidelines in defeat.

“Texas, being the reddest of the red states, should have a say in the presidential nomination process, and I think this is something that achieves that goal for us,” said state Republican Chairman Tom Mechler, who was elected to the leadership post last month. “With the large treasure-trove of delegates available to the presidential nominee candidates, this would be the state that they don’t want to ignore.”

Put another way, Mechler said, any candidates who take a pass on Texas do so “at their own peril.”

Texas will have 155 Republican delegates, second to California’s 172. A total of 114 will be allocated on primary day, and 38 will be doled out at the Republican State Convention in Dallas in May 2016. Three state party officials will serve as superdelegates to complete the Texas delegate package.

Mechler’s predecessor, Steve Munisteri, who oversaw the primary plan at last year’s state convention, calls the arrangement “the Texas double shotgun blast.” Viable candidates may have to court Texas twice — once for the primary and again when the 38 delegates are selected at the convention.

“So we’re going to be a big, big player,” said Munisteri, who stepped down as chairman to become a senior adviser in Paul’s campaign. “It will make everybody come in early in the process. And then if the race is still going on in May, Texas has a chance to have an impact late as well.”

Texas’ place on the calendar just adds to the traditional political pilgrimage here to line up big bucks and establish a campaign organization in the nation’s second-largest state.

Besides Cruz and Perry, nearly half a dozen other candidates have been in Texas to hold fundraisers and reach out to potential supporters. Some have hired top consultants or professional fundraisers.

“Texas is always important in terms of campaign finance,” said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. “We’re the big ATM for any Republican candidate.”

Here’s what some of the candidates are doing in Texas, according to interviews and media reports, beginning with the state’s junior senator and its former governor.

Ted Cruz

Cruz became the first candidate from either party to enter the race when he announced his candidacy March 23 to coincide with an appearance at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Although advisers call every state important, Texas is clearly a springboard to his national aspirations, serving as a major donor base and the site of his headquarters, which is in Houston.

One of his principal team members is Hal Lambert of Fort Worth, CEO of Point Bridge Capital, who served as finance chairman of the Texas Republican Party before joining the Cruz campaign as a national finance co-chairman.

“He’s got a lot of support” in Texas, said Lambert, who supported Perry’s presidential campaign in 2012. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

The Cruz campaign raised $4 million during the senator’s first week in the race, paralleling a rise in the polls. A fundraiser Tuesday in Houston drew close to $1 million and included high-profile donors such as philanthropist Windi Grimes and Houston energy executive Stephen Cox.

“I can’t stress enough how pleased the campaign has been with the start,” said Lambert, who has known Cruz for eight years and describes him as “a great new fresh face for the party.”

Another prominent Cruz supporter in Tarrant County is freshman state Sen. Konni Burton of Colleyville, who has already endorsed Cruz and says she is “fully on board” with helping him consolidate grassroots support. “I basically said I’ll do whatever I need to do,” she said.

Rick Perry

Perry, who left office Jan. 20 after 14 years as governor, has assembled a steering committee of more than 80 major donors in Texas and other states and has met with key leaders throughout the state as he moves toward a likely second presidential run.

Perry has been reaching out to donors throughout the country but can count on a hefty financial boost in his home state, where he raised more than $100 million while governor. Perry’s message in private gatherings, including one in Fort Worth last week, is that he would be a much different candidate this time after his short-lived run in 2012.

“He’s basically rolling out Rick Perry 2.0,” said Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain, who was among 100 guests at the Petroleum Club in Fort Worth.

“He assured us that he will be thoroughly prepared this time, and I believe the governor is right,” said Cain, who is backing Perry because of his “proven track record in building one of the strongest economies in the world.”

Perry’s chief strategist, Jeff Miller, has predicted that the former governor would win the Texas primary and could amass the $50 million to $100 million needed to claim the Republican nomination.

Jeb Bush

The Midland-born former Florida governor will draw support from his extensive family ties in Texas, including his presidential father, George H.W. Bush of Houston, his presidential brother, George W. Bush of Dallas, and his son, Land Commissioner George P. Bush, a former Fort Worth investor.

George W. Bush attended a recent big-money fundraiser for his brother in Dallas where attendees were asked to donate or raise up to $100,000 per couple. The next night, Jeb Bush headlined another fundraiser at a private home in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood.

Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who ran against Perry for governor in 2010, attended the Dallas fundraiser.

She said that Republicans have a “strong field” and that she has nothing against the two Texans in the race. She is backing Bush “because I really want to have someone that people know can do this job and can win the election. I think he just has the right mix for right now.”

Hutchison, now a Dallas attorney, said Bush hasn’t established a campaign structure in Texas because he hasn’t officially announced. “I think really right now they’re focused on having enough funds to get a campaign organization,” she said.

Rand Paul

The Kentucky senator, who is preparing to launch his candidacy with an announcement tour this month, also has strong Texas roots as a former Baylor student and the son of former Texas congressman Ron Paul, who made three presidential runs — twice as a Republican and once as a Libertarian. His brother, Dr. Robert Paul, lives in Fort Worth and has a family medicine practice in Benbrook.

The about-to-be candidate has reached into Texas for high-profile additions to his team, recruiting Munisteri, a longtime friend, as his senior adviser and tapping Austin-based Harris Media, which formerly worked for Cruz, as a consultant.

“Texas is obviously a conservative powerhouse,” Harris Media President Vincent Harris said. “I know Sen. Paul has a big affinity for the state.”

Harris said Paul has opened an office in Austin and held fundraisers there while in town for South by Southwest. “I would expect he would keep coming back to Texas,” Harris said. “There is a lot of support for him.”

Scott Walker

The Wisconsin governor seems to be gaining fans in Texas and had 19 percent support in a Texas Tribune/University of Texas poll in February — good enough for second place behind Cruz . He was in the state in late March to tour the border with Gov. Greg Abbott, and he spoke at the Harris County Republican Party’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner.

Walker spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said the governor spent “a few days around the trip” with meetings and fundraisers. “He will be back,” she said by email, “and we have had a lot of people approach us after the last trip to try to organize events for the governor to come talk about his agenda and how it would help a state like Texas.”

Others who have come to Texas for speaking engagements or fundraisers include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO and the Austin-born daughter of a law professor.

Christie has also reportedly named Dallas investor Ray Washburne, former finance chairman for the Republican National Committee, as the finance chairman for a potential presidential run.