Cowboys, beavers and oil tycoons: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick raised $2M in 2 months. You’ll recognize some of his top donors.
Dan Patrick was inaugurated as Texas’ lieutenant governor on Tuesday.
DALLAS — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was inaugurated on Tuesday after defeating Democratic challenger Mike Collier in the 2022 general election, winning 54 % of the vote.
Also released this week was his latest campaign finance report, which showed that he raised nearly $2 million ($1,973,994.26) for his campaign from Oct. 30, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022.
And a few names of his top donors stood out, including Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Arch Aplin, the founder of Buc-ee’s, the Texas-based gas station company.
Here are the top donors to Patrick’s campaign in this last cycle (spent $50,000 or more):
$200,000: Jerral “Jerry” Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager $125,000: Arch Aplin, founder and CEO of Buc-ee’s$100,000: S. Javaid Anwar, Midland Energy CEO$100,000: Paul Foster, Emergency Physician$50,000: BHA PAC$50,000: Blackridge (Austin)$50,000: Jay Graham, Spur Energy engineer$50,000: Texas Association of Realtors PAC
Jones has long supported Texas Republican candidates, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to Open Secrets, which tracks campaign contributions. Jones, though, did donate money to Dallas Democrat Colin Allred in 2018, when Allred ran for U.S. House.
Other notable donors who spent less amounts include numerous law enforcement political action committees (PACs) and energy PACs:
Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots PAC: $2,500Austin Police Association PAC: $1,000Berkshire Hathaway Energy PAC: $20,000Centerpoint Energy Inc PAC: $8,800Cypress Solar TX PAC: $6,000Dallas Police Officer PAC: $1,000Department of Public Safety Officers Association PAC: $5,000El Paso Electric Company Employee PAC: $2,500Elevance Health PAC: $10,000Enterprise Products Partners Texas PAC: $15,000ExxonMobil PAC: $2,500Houston Police Retired Officers Association PAC: $1,000Next Era Energy PAC: $25,000Texas Bitcoin PAC: $20,000
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was also inaugurated alongside Patrick on Tuesday after he defeated Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, winning 55% of the general election vote.
Abbott’s campaign finance report was not yet available Wednesday.
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