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The Defend Texas Liberty PAC leader’s recent meeting with Nick Fuentes, a prominent white supremacist, has sparked increased scrutiny towards the group’s donors and the politicians who have received financial support from it.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, who has consistently been targeted by the PAC, is urging his fellow Republicans to distance themselves from the group and reject its financial support. Although a few have responded positively to his appeal, others have chosen to disregard it and accuse Phelan of pursuing personal political interests.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has received over $3 million from the PAC, has criticized Fuentes. However, he stated on Wednesday that he has no intention of returning the PAC’s funds and accused Phelan of initiating a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation.
Regardless of the outcome, this marks a crucial juncture for the group, which was established in 2020 and has been instrumental in pushing state GOP officials towards a more extreme right-wing stance. The primary source of funding for this group is Tim Dunn, an oil tycoon from Midland who has consistently supported initiatives aimed at challenging Texas Republicans whom he and his associates consider insufficiently conservative, especially within the state House.
Last week, Fuentes spent almost seven hours visiting an office building linked to Jonathan Stickland, the president of Defend Texas Liberty, as reported by The Texas Tribune on Sunday.
Apart from condemning Phelan for raising the matter and expressing its opposition to Fuentes’ “inflammatory opinions,” the PAC has refrained from providing any further comments on the report.
In a statement on Wednesday, Patrick stated that he had conversed with Dunn, who explicitly conveyed that the meeting between PAC President Jonathan Stickland and white supremacist Nick Fuentes was a grave mistake.
Stickland, a former state representative known for stirring up controversy, chose not to run for reelection in 2020. In the beginning of 2020, he founded a political consulting firm called Pale Horse Strategies, which has received payments exceeding $800,000 from Defend Texas Liberty. Stickland is still serving as the president of Defend Texas Liberty, as mentioned in a recent news release regarding the PAC’s latest polling data.
While officially established in March 2020, the roots of Defend Texas Liberty PAC can be traced back to pre-existing political forces.
Before funding Defend Texas Liberty PAC, Dunn plowed millions of dollars into a conservative group called Empower Texans that also was known for aggressively targeting House Republicans in the primary. In more recent years, Dunn’s millions have been supplemented by similar giving from Dan and Farris Wilks, billionaire brothers from Cisco who made their fortune in fracking. They burst on the national political scene in 2015, when they gave $15 million to a super PAC network supporting Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign. They are also major investors in right-wing media companies — including The Daily Wire and PragerU — that push their ultraconservative views.
Defend Texas Liberty currently relies heavily on Dunn and Farris as well as Jo Ann Wilks for 90% of its fundraising. With a total collection of nearly $16 million, the group has allocated $14.8 million to support primary challengers and allied organizations such as the Texas GOP. These efforts aim to encourage fellow Republicans to adopt more stringent positions on issues like illegal immigration and transgender individuals.
In recent times, the PAC has established itself as a prominent contributor to two prominent state officials, namely Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The group gave $3 million in campaign funding to Patrick in June as he was preparing to preside over Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate. After the Senate acquitted Paxton last month on allegations of bribery and misuse of office, Patrick faced a cascade of criticism that he was essentially bought off. Patrick has defended taking the money by arguing he received just as much from the “other side” in the trial, though that is difficult to verify.
Dunn’s network’s effectiveness remains a subject of ongoing discussion. Although Defend Texas Liberty faced losses in most state House races it engaged in last year, its impact can still be perceived in more intangible aspects. A notable instance is seen in Governor Greg Abbott’s governance in 2021, which notably swayed towards a more conservative direction when he faced a primary challenge from Don Huffines, generously supported by the PAC.
Over the years, the Republican establishment has dealt with Dunn’s activities with varying levels of confrontation. Former House Speaker Dennis Bonnen memorably sought to broker a kind of treaty with Empower Texans in 2019, taking a meeting with its leader, Michael Quinn Sullivan, to discuss election strategy. Sullivan secretly recorded the meeting, later sharing audio of Bonnen suggesting the group politically target certain House Republicans. The meeting ultimately upset so many members that Bonnen chose to step down.
Dunn’s network has weathered scandals before. In 2020, two Empower Texans staffers, Cary Cheshire and Tony McDonald, were caught on an audio recording disparaging Abbott with profanity and joking about his wheelchair use. Abbott and other GOP leaders denounced the comments, and Empower Texans said both were “suspended from all public activities.” Cheshire still works inside the Dunn-funded network, and McDonald is a lawyer whose firm continues to represent the network’s interests.
The recipients
Don Huffines has been the largest beneficiary of Defend Texas Liberty’s funds, receiving $3.7 million from the organization during his run against Abbott in the 2022 primary. Huffines strongly advocated for Abbott to address border issues by declaring a constitutional “invasion.” Additionally, he closely scrutinized Abbott’s handling of the pandemic, and took credit when Abbott changed his stance on private businesses mandating vaccines.
Huffines issued a statement to the Tribune in which he refrained from mentioning Defend Texas Liberty. However, he expressed his disdain towards Fuentes by stating that he is contemptible, and clarified that he has no affiliation or association with him.
Huffines stated, “My father, an honored war veteran, devoted years to eliminating Nazis and received accolades for his efforts in liberating concentration camps. As for myself, I have consistently supported the Jewish community and have played a crucial role in passing significant pro-Israel laws that put an end to BDS boycotts. I believe my actions and accomplishments speak volumes, but I want to emphasize that I will never waver in my fight against anti-Semitism and communism.”
In addition to Patrick and Paxton, the PAC has also made smaller contributions to 17 other current state officeholders. These include Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, Senator Brandon Creighton of Conroe, Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston, Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, Senator Kevin Sparks of Midland, Senator Phil King of Weatherford, Senator Bob Hall of Edgewood, Representative Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, Representative Nate Schatzline of Fort Worth, Representative Mark Dorazio of San Antonio, Representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler, Representative Carrie Isaac of Dripping Springs, Representative Teresa Leo-Wilson of Galveston, Representative Brian Harrison of Midlothian, and Representative Stan Kitzman of Pattison.
Former state Rep. Bryan Slaton of Royse City, who was unanimously expelled by the House in May due to his involvement in a misconduct case, received a significant amount of funding from the PAC. The PAC, known as Defend Texas Liberty, distributed a substantial $100,000 check to Slaton during his campaign. A widely circulated photo on social media depicts Slaton alongside Stickland, who presented him with the generous contribution.
When contacted by The Texas Tribune, only one incumbent representative responded out of the majority reached on Wednesday. Kitzman, who received a $5,000 donation from the PAC during his 2022 primary runoff, stated that he would redirect the funds towards causes aligned with his personal values as a Christian and as a representative of House District 85. Some of the organizations he mentioned included the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, a House Republican named Rep. Jared Patterson from Frisco announced his intention to donate $2,500 that he had received from Stickland’s campaign back in 2018. The funds will be sent to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces organization.
Until recently, Defend Texas Liberty’s reputation primarily stemmed from its financial support towards candidates rather than incumbents. The organization has predominantly backed Republican contenders who lean towards the extreme right during primaries. These candidates have pledged to contest House GOP leadership while fiercely opposing issues such as abortion, illegal immigration, and gender-affirming care.
Some of the more high-profile candidates for the Texas House the PAC has funded include Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was arrested for defying a statewide COVID-19 shutdown order, and Jeff Younger, who has been in a yearslong public legal battle with his ex-wife over their child’s gender identity. Both espoused hostile views toward transgender people, with Luther questioning at one point why schoolchildren are not allowed to make fun of transgender classmates.
Luther and Younger did not emerge as winners; however, similar to numerous instances where Dunn-backed candidates were involved, their financially supported campaigns compelled the establishment to adopt a defensive stance and pushed other candidates, including incumbents, towards a more conservative position.
Several candidates supported by Defend Texas Liberty are already preparing to run again next year, and incumbents are wasting no time in holding them accountable for their association with the Fuentes meeting. Rep. Stan Gerdes of Smithville issued a statement on Tuesday urging his opponent, Tom Glass, to either “return or refuse any donations” from Defend Texas Liberty. In the previous election cycle, Glass received a $10,000 contribution from the group during the primary for the same seat.
In a statement, Glass expressed his strong disapproval of Fuenties’ “detestable and anti-Semitic notions” and anyone linked to him.
Glass stated, “I denounce the efforts made by Dade Phelan and Stan Gerdes to manipulate this tragedy for their own political advantage. Their feeble attempts are nothing more than a ploy to divert the voters’ focus away from the groundless and unsuccessful Ken Paxton impeachment controversy.”
After accepting a campaign contribution of $55,000 from Defend Texas Liberty in the past, Rep. Lynn Stucky, a Republican from Denton, urged his opponent, Andy Hopper, to disavow the organization. In response, Hopper, whose son is employed by Pale Horse Strategies, defended himself by releasing a lengthy statement criticizing Stucky for raising this matter. Hopper briefly acknowledged Fuentes, stating that he recently became aware of Fuentes and discovered his troubling personal beliefs.
Hopper stated that they would not judge an organization based on the perspective of a single individual who happened to be present in their premises.
In his statement on Wednesday, Patrick adopted a comparable stance, asserting that Phelan’s motive is to divert attention from his inability to push forward conservative legislation.
Patrick said that individuals who echo his requests for elected officials to give back the money are equally devoid of political integrity, just like him.
Accepting a $5,000 contribution from Defend Texas Liberty in his 2022 campaign, Adam Hinojosa, vying for a battleground state Senate seat in South Texas, may encounter challenges not only during the primaries but also in the general elections.
In response to inquiries regarding the donation, Hinojosa stated on Wednesday that he intends to contribute his personal funds to the Pregnancy Center of the Coastal Bend. This generous act aims to support the organization in establishing a new pregnancy center in Brownsville.
The donors
Although a small number of additional donors contributing six-figure amounts have been drawn to Defend Texas Liberty, the primary driving force behind its funding is Wilks and Dunn, the CEO of CrownQuest Operating in Midland.
Defend Texas Liberty has received a donation of $9.7 million from Dunn, whereas Wilks has made a contribution of $4.8 million.
Both individuals did not provide a response when asked for comments regarding the Fuentes visit with Stickland. However, the day after the Tribune report, Dunn utilized X to emphasize that he was recognized as a “top 50 Christian ally of Israel” by the Israel Allies Foundation in the previous year. This was Dunn’s initial post on the platform since June.
Patrick expressed that Dunn had informed him that Defend Texas Liberty would not have any further communication with Fuentes and that everyone within the PAC acknowledges the errors made and is actively rectifying them. Patrick conveyed his trust in Dunn.
Four other people have given six figures to Defend Texas Liberty — a small fraction of Dunn’s and Wilks’ funding but still sizable amounts for Texas politics. They include Windi Grimes, a Houston oil heiress; Phillip Huffines, a Dallas home builder and brother of Don Huffines, the 2022 Abbott challenger; Ken Fisher, a Plano money manager; and Alex Fairly, an Amarillo businessman who is active in local politics and recently gave $20 million to create an institute at West Texas A&M University to promote American values.
Out of the donors contributing six-figure sums, two responded to comment requests, one being Fisher who donated $100,000 in January 2022.
In an email, Fisher stated that they were not present at the meeting, currently not involved there, had no knowledge about it or the person in question. They emphasized that the meeting had no connection to their previous involvement, stating it plainly and simply.
During the Amarillo City Council elections this spring, Fairly, along with an LLC associated with him, contributed approximately $181,000 to support Defend Texas Liberty.
Fairly stated that he will not provide any comments on the story mentioned in The Tribune’s article as he has no knowledge of, and has never met or spoken to the alleged participants in the meeting. However, he feels compelled to address the central issue in the story, which is racism. Fairly expresses deep sadness and dismay towards any form of racism, regardless of who perpetuates it or what organization is involved. He firmly believes that every individual, regardless of their race, is made in the image of God. Therefore, any attempt to diminish or devalue someone based on their race directly contradicts the very nature of the God who created each and every one of us.