Accounts Playable

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Abstract:

The Texas Ethics Commission has July cash on hand numbers for 2,694 political committees and campaigns that together held $167 million last month.

Body:

More of the money is at the top than at the bottom. Three hundred of those outfits reported no money on hand. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Less than half — 1,031 — had $10,000 or more. And $10,000 is chump change in a Texas political season. Only 459 had more than $50,000; only 274 of the reports show balances of $100,000 or more. That last bunch is a little over 10 percent of the total number of PACs and campaigns (10.2 percent, to be precise), and they hold $136.2 million, or 82 percent of the money reported by all the filers. Just 48 of the filers had more than $500,000 and they held $90 million at mid-year — more than half the money in all the political accounts. The top tier — those in the million-dollar-plus club — numbers 25. Those accounts had dibs on $73.4 million, or 44 percent of the total.

Enough of that.

The elite include Texans for [Attorney General] Greg Abbott, who led with $11.2 million in his account. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White was next, at $9 million, followed by the Texas Association of Realtors Issues Mobilization PAC, with $7 million; Texans for Rick Perry, with $5.9 million; the Texas Association of Realtors PAC, at $5.1 million; Friends of [Comptroller] Susan Combs, $4.6 million; [Sen.] John Whitmire, $3.6 million; [Lt. Gov.] David Dewhurst Committee, $3.6 million; Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, $3.3 million; [Sen.] Kirk Watson, $1.6 million.

The next ten: [Rep. and former House Speaker] Tom Craddick, $1.5 million; Texans for [House Speaker] Joe Straus, $1.5 million; Joe Straus [a separate committee], $1.5 million; [Sen.] Rodney Ellis, $1.4 million; [Sen. Troy] Fraser for Texas Senate, $1.3 million; [former Sen.] Kip Averitt, $1.2 million; Texans for [Rep.] Dan Branch, $1.2 million; [former Rep.] Steven Wolens, $1.2 million; Texas Dental Association PAC, $1.2 million; and [Sen.] Royce West, $1.1 million.

The rest of the top 25: Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund, $1.1 million; Border Health PAC, $1.1 million; Texans for [Agriculture Commissioner] Todd Staples, $1.1 million; [Sen.] Kevin Eltife, $1 million; and the North Texas Leadership PAC, $1 million.

Download a printable copy of the biggest balances here [1], or get a spreadsheet version here [2].