Thread by @christackettnow

Last thread we agreed that top donors to any party are the "special interests" who are working to gain influence for their goals and issues with candidates in a party. I detailed the Dems last time. Now lets get a good look at the Republicans. #txlege /1

https://twitter.com/christackettnow/status/1016117596536688642

There are 9,133 unique contributors to Republicans running for Texas House. How much of what candidates have received has come from the Top 20 Republican donors (which we can hopefully all agree would be “Special Interests”? Remember, the top 20 are 0.2% of the total donors. /2

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD001 VanDeaver, Gary - 6%
HD002 Flynn, Dan - 35%
HD003 Bell, Cecil - 18%
HD007 Dean, Jay - 13%
HD008 Harris, Cody - 69%
HD009 Paddie, Chris - 31%
HD010 Wray, John - 21%
#txlege /3

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD011 Clardy, Travis - 21%
HD012 Kacal, Kyle - 13%
HD013 Leman, Ben - 62%
HD014 Raney, John - 42%
HD016 Metcalf, Will - 14%
HD017 Cyrier, John - 12%
HD018 Bailes, Ernest - 50%
#txlege /4

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD019 White, James - 21%
HD020 Wilson, Terry - 29%
HD024 Bonnen, Greg - 45%
HD025 Bonnen, Dennis - 22%
HD026 Miller, Rick - 44%
HD028 Zerwas, John - 16%
HD029 Thompson, Ed - 32%
#txlege /5

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD030 Morrison, Geanie - 30%
HD032 Hunter, Todd - 15%
HD033 Holland, Justin - 19%
HD034 Hale, Chris - 0%
HD041 DeShazo, Hilda Garza - 0%
HD042 De La Garza, Luis - 0%
HD043 Lozano, JM - 18%
#txlege /6

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD044 Kuempel, John - 25%
HD045 Strange, Ken - 0%
HD046 Nila, Gabriel - 0%
HD052 Flores, Cynthia - 64%
HD053 Murr, Andrew - 32%
HD054 Buckley, Brad - 0%
HD055 Shine, Hugh - 9%
#txlege /7

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD056 Anderson, Charles - 9%
HD057 Ashby, Trent - 15%
HD058 Burns, DeWayne - 21%
HD059 Sheffield, JD - 57%
HD062 Smith, Reggie - 73%
HD063 Parker, Tan 44%
HD064 Stucky, Lynn 25%
#txlege /8

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD065 Simmons, Ron - 29%
HD068 Springer, Drew - 23%
HD069 Frank, James - 56%
HD070 Sanford, Scott - 38%
HD071 Lambert, Stan - 13%
HD081 Landgraf, Brooks - 8%
HD082 Craddick, Tom - 38%
#txlege /9

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD083 Burrows, Dustin - 14%
HD084 Frullo, John - 30%
HD085 Stephenson, Phil - 21%
HD086 Smithee, John - 29%
HD089 Noble, Candy - 0%
HD091 Klick, Stephanie - 13%
HD097 Goldman, Craig - 30%
#txlege /10

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD098 Capriglione, Giovanni - 60%
HD099 Geren, Charlie - 36%
HD102 Koop, Linda - 34%
HD015 Anderson, Rodney - 25%
HD108 Meyer, Morgan - 12%
HD112 Button, Angie Chen - 8%
#txlege /11

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD117 Berlanga, Michael - 0%
HD120 Payne, Ronald - 0%
HD121 Allison, Steve - 54%
HD122 Larson, Lyle - 29%
HD126 Harless, Sam - 32%
HD127 Huberty, Dan - 29%
HD129 Paul, Dennis - 16%
#txlege /12

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD130 Oliverson, Tom - 20%
HD132 Schofield, Mike - 24%
HD133 Murphy, Jim - 9%
HD134 Davis, Sarah - 32%
HD135 Elkins, Gary - 11%
HD136 Dale, Tony - 10%
#txlege /13

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors?
HD138 Bohac, Dwayne - 12%
HD144 Villarreal, Ruben - 88%
HD147 Wang, Thomas - 0%
#txlege /14

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors? Here are candidates who were not successful in the primary or runoff
HD004 McKee, Ashley - 24%
HD023 Faircloth, Wayne - 54%
HD054 Cosper, Scott - 50%
HD060 Largent, Jim - 0%
#txlege /15

What % of total Rep candidate donations have come from the top 20 Rep donors? Here are candidates who were not successful in the primary or runoff
HD073 Campbell, Dave - 49%
HD106 Bedsole, Clint - 62%
HD107 Ruzicka, Joe - 22%
HD114 Villalba, Jason - 49%
#txlege /16

The average from the top 20 Rep House donors was 24% of total contributions. Remember, the top 20 donors make up just 0.2% of the total contributors. That starts to speak to a few voices having too much say in how things go. #txlege /17

Last one on this thread. When you look at what the top 20 Rep House donors have given to R candidates, it totals $5.6MM. The total overall given is $15.7MM. 0.2% of donors gave almost 36% of total contributions. Is that too much influence? #txlege /end

I'll post the third part in the Top 20 series, the deep dive on the Empower Party, tomorrow. My fingers and brain are tired tonight.