And it’s not all homegrown.
Although neither candidate has raised as much total money as longtime representative Dianne White Delisi in 2006, Murphey and Sheffield each report receiving $30,000 from political players with deep pockets.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission’s report released this week, an Austin group called Blue Texas donated $30,000 to Sam Murphey’s camp, and Houston homebuilder Bob Perry contributed $30,000 to Ralph Sheffield’s campaign.
With such large single donations landing in the campaigns’ bank accounts, it looks like District 55 is one of several seats that have garnered statewide attention.
Here’s why.
Republicans now hold a 79-71 advantage in the Texas House of Representatives. If the Democrats come out of Nov. 4 with a net gain of five seats, they will take control with a 76-74 majority.
Since Ms. Delisi is not running for reelection, the District 55 seat is no sure thing for Republicans. Murphy could be one of the five candidates Democrats are looking for that would hand them the House.
Craig McDonald, executive director for the non-partisan, non-profit Texans for Public Justice, said outside money is not unusual in hot races.
“Since this is a competitive race, the outcome of the Texas House of Representatives is theoretically in the air, or at stake here,” McDonald said. “The more the competitive the race, and particularly when the outcome of the Legislature might be at stake, they just attract more money.”
Houston homebuilder Perry
McDonald said Perry is the backbone of funding for the Republican Party in Texas.
“Thirty thousand dollars is a pretty substantial contribution from him for a Texas House race. He’s a big funder of tort reform. He spent several million dollars on the last congressional election on these very sharply Swift Boat-like ads against incumbent Democrats for Congress. So, he’s got a history of funding some very aggressive attack ads. He’s the biggest single donor to the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general.”
Sheffield spokesman Will Franklin said in a written statement the majority of Sheffield’s campaign contributions came from individuals who live in House District 55, unlike Murphey, who only raised a third of his resources in the district.
Sheffield said, “I am very proud of the support I have gained from the citizens of District 55. Despite a long and expensive primary and runoff, I’m confident I will have the resources I need to spread my conservative message because the good people of Bell County keep showing strong support for my campaign by sending me financial contributions.”
Sheffield did not directly comment on the Perry donation.
Murphey said Perry was the single largest Republican donor in Texas. He said Perry’s main goal was to keep Republicans in charge of state government, and since he’s such a large homebuilder, had previously promoted legislation that favored homebuilders over consumer redress.
Blue Texas
With an image of Texas dripping in fresh blue paint on their Web site www.bluetexas.org, it’s easy to discern which way this organization leans. Blue Texas says its mission is to control the Texas congressional agenda, and push progressive values. “In addition, the ascendant party in 2010 will once again control the redistricting process.”
On Tuesday, the Sheffield campaign declined to specifically address the $30,000 Blue Texas donated to the Murphey campaign. But in a group e-mail to supporters on Sept. 29, Franklin said Blue Texas was making an unprecedented push to “flip this pivotal seat.”
“Our campaign has learned that a liberal organization called Blue Texas has made its first round of campaign contributions. Ralph’s opponent has reportedly received $30,000. He was one of only six candidates running in open-seat Texas House races to receive campaign dollars from this well-funded left-wing group with ties to Barack Obama,” Franklin wrote.
Murphey said Blue Texas was backing moderate to conservative Democrats in a push to end one-party rule in Texas.
“I’m very proud to have their support. I think outside money is fine because these people have the same issues that I campaigned on ... health care ... utility rates and insurance reform, I’ve been stumping on since the thing started,” Murphey said. “These are people that feel the same way, they would like to have representatives in Austin that can help get traction on these issues. We’ve had a one party state for too long and our one party has failed to deliver what Texans demand.”
