The Republican National Committee is holding its first-ever midterm party convention in Dallas this week. Organizers expect 20,000 people at the American Airlines Center, and President Donald Trump will be a featured presence despite not being on the ballot this fall.
Reliably red voters
Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994. Republicans have held the state Legislature majority since the early 2000s and have won most of the state’s congressional seats since 2004.
But the state’s real value to the GOP goes beyond its reliably red voters.
The ATM of Republican politics
Texas has a uniquely powerful donor network, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston.
“Texas has largely been considered the ATM for Republican Party politics,” he said. “There’s no other state where there’s such a convergence of ideology and money as Texas.”
Oil, gas and energy money drives much of it. Many of the state’s wealthiest Republican donors built fortunes in the industry, including:
- Tim Dunn
- Farris Wilks
- Jeffery Hildebrand
- Kelcy Warren
Rottinghaus said other major GOP donors sit atop Texas real estate, finance and business sectors.
“Texas is the epicenter, financially, of so many different industries, and so many big money players are involved in Texas politics from either an ideological point of view or from a financial point of view,” he said.
Nearly $29 million from Texas
From the start of 2025 through July, nearly one-third of the RNC’s itemized individual contributions — about $29 million — came from Texas.
The state’s economy is massive. According to the state comptroller’s office, if Texas were its own country, it would have the eighth highest gross domestic product in the world.
That scale explains the giving, but not the motivation behind it.
Why mega donors write checks
The reporter behind this story emailed and called more than two dozen Republican mega donors. One wrote back, declining a formal interview but offering a brief explanation.
“As a traditional Republican, I feel it’s a part of citizenship to be somewhat involved in who we chose to lead our state,” the donor wrote.
Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser said reasons for giving vary.
“Typically it is a combination of they do support the agenda. They support the platform and the president,” Steinhauser said. “But also they’re looking for access. And so money helps open doors. There’s no secret in that.”
He stressed that large donations don’t guarantee results. The hope, he said, is that donors at least get to provide input on matters they care about.
The small-dollar side
Texas is also home to more than 6 million people who voted for Trump in 2024. Even a fraction of those voters giving to the RNC or Republican campaigns adds up.
Rebecca Trahan, a finance executive in Katy who works as a Republican strategist, started giving in the early 90s.
“I first donated to the Republican National Committee, I think I was 19 years old. I didn’t have a lot back then, but I wanted to start contributing,” she said. “I’ve donated ever since. I’ve donated small amounts. I’ve also donated very large amounts.”
Trahan said access-driven giving is a mindset for the big players, not the average donor.
“I would say, in my experience, people like that are more on the fringe,” she said. “They’re not the average person that is giving a donation.”
Skin in the game
Tom Slocum, a Houston oil and gas consultant and small-dollar donor, sees giving as personal investment.
“It’s skin in the game. It’s definitely skin in the game,” he said. “You helped elect this person with your time and your treasure. When you’ve invested into the campaign, even if it’s $20, you’re a lot more likely to go vote because you have made a small-dollar donation.”
Texas stays central
The party’s Texas money will be on full display this week. For the GOP, the state is both a donor engine and a voting base.
That combination is hard to match.
Source: houstonpublicmedia.org