Just As I Suspected…It’s God’s Sugar Daddy

Pink Dome confirmed, via QR, what I already suspected: James Leininger is financially behind the challenges to GOP incumbents in the Texas House including Tommy Merritt and Carter Casteel.
QR noted:

For months now, rumors have swirled around the capital that operatives of Dr. James Leininger were recruiting primary opponents for House voucher opponents, specifically Carter Casteel, Charlie Geren, Delwin Jones, Roy Blake and Tommy Merritt.

However, on January 10th of this year, Dr. Leininger appeared on a panel about school vouchers at a Texas Public Policy Foundation event in Austin.

When quizzed by reporters afterwards, Dr. Leininger seemed to distance himself from efforts to unseat House Republicans. He told Associated Press, “For 15 years I’ve tried to support people who support school choice and I guess that means opposing people, in a sense, that are against school choice. I’ll focus more on open seats, it’s hard to beat incumbents, is a lot more productive to focus on open seats and hopefully protect incumbents that believe the way you believe, and oppose people that don’t believe what you believe”

Nevertheless, a newly formed General Purpose PAC appears to be the vehicle for organizing the challenge and promoting pro-voucher Republican candidates.

This PAC is evidently the Texas Republican Legislative Campaign Committee, which I discovered while looking up, via the Texas Ethics Commission website, recent contributions of Leininger. Turns out he gave the PAC a cool $50,000.

The group had expenditures to Austin Attorney Edward Shack, the attorney who assisted the Texas Association of Business in 2002, among others. Other payees were Anthem Media, a $20,000 retainer on a consulting fee, and Keep Texas Strong, which got $15,000. Anthem is affiliated with several campaigns, including Ed Bryant’s senate campaign, and also consulted for Pete Sessions during the last cycle.

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