Dade Phelan, House Incumbents Receive Major Fundraising Boost From Casino Magnate

Under attack from the right, House Speaker Dade Phelan and his allies are outpacing their primary opponents in fundraising going into a heated May 28 runoff that’s pitting Republican incumbents against far-right challengers.

The incumbents saw key support from politically connected business groups and megadonors — with a surprise last-minute influx from Miriam Adelson, the owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire who is intent on legalizing her business in Texas.

Phelan, R-Beaumont, was pushed into an overtime contest after he finished second to GOP activist David Covey in a three-way March primary.

Covey raked in an impressive haul in his own right, raising some $1.7 million and spending nearly as much since late February, according to campaign finance reports due this week.

Once dismissed as a longshot, the 34-year-old oil and gas trader has won the support of Phelan’s high-profile political rivals, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Midland oilman Tim Dunn, a billionaire megadonor who is funding an aggressive campaign to oust Phelan and rid the party of so-called moderates.

Dunn’s new political group, Texans United for a Conservative Majority PAC, was one of Covey’s biggest donors in recent weeks, kicking in more than $400,000 during the runoff. Patrick donated $100,000, while Amarillo businessman Alex Fairly contributed $500,000. Fairly is the father of Caroline Fairly, who won her Republican House primary in March. The trio accounted for more than 60% of Covey’s fundraising in his latest finance report, which covered all campaign activity from Feb. 25 through Saturday.

That was not enough to match Phelan, who has raked in about $3.4 million and spent nearly $3.9 million over the same span, more than doubling up Covey. Phelan’s biggest backers included a who’s-who of the state’s usual GOP donor crowd — along with a significant boost from Adelson’s newly formed group, Texas Defense PAC. All told, he received more than $660,000 from Adelson and Texas Sands PAC, another group linked to the casino empire.

Adelson, who took the helm of Las Vegas Sands following the death of her husband, Sheldon Adelson, is among the wealthiest women in the country. She cut a $9 million check earlier this month for Texas Defense PAC — the group’s only source of funding.

The PAC also kicked in more than $400,000 to endangered GOP state Reps. Frederick Frazier of McKinney, Justin Holland of Rockwall and John Kuempel of Seguin. All three easily outpaced their runoff foes in fundraising and spending in the latest finance reports, thanks in part to Adelson’s support.

Adelson has pushed for legalized casino gambling in Texas for years, but her efforts have largely been thwarted by the Senate, where Patrick has been cool to the measure. Phelan has been more receptive to the idea, saying at the start of last year’s regular session that he wanted to see “destination-style casinos that are high-quality and that create jobs.” He also noted that his district, tucked in Texas’ southeast corner along the Louisiana border, is “a stone’s throw” from casinos that are legalized across state lines.

Some of the GOP challengers on the other side of Adelson’s spending were quick to frame it as a tainted source of funding from an industry that some in the party oppose over concerns that it would stoke gambling addictions and attract crime. Holland’s opponent, former tea party leader and Trump spokesperson Katrina Pierson, derided Holland for being “funded by out of state billionaires.”

“​​If you’re a ‘Republican,’ and you’re taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the casino lobby in the primary, you’re NOT the good guy. You’re a useful idiot,” tweeted Mitch Little, an attorney who recently ousted state Rep. Kronda Thimesch of Lewisville.

A similar theme played out in most of the eight House runoffs involving GOP incumbents, with nearly all eclipsing their challengers in fundraising. In North Texas’ District 64, state Rep. Lynn Stucky was outspent by challenger Andy Hopper, though Stucky hauled in more than Hopper and had nearly six times as much cash on hand as of this weekend.

Early voting began Monday and ends Friday ahead of Election Day on May 28.

This article was written by  JASPER SCHERER of The Texas Tribune . This article originally appeared at: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/21/dade-phelan-miriam-adelson-casino-runoff-primary/