Open seats at the top of the ballot make this a particularly contentious and pricey election cycle for those wanting jobs in Austin. But the big-money donors have also found their way to Tarrant County.
Nearly $4.1 million has been raised since July in the race to replace Wendy Davis in state Senate District 10. Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, is battling Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican, to replace the outgoing Gov. Rick Perry.
With the help of top partisan donors, Democrat Libby Willis and Republican Konni Burton are attracting more money than all but the biggest statewide races.
“We know who’s going to win all the statewide races and all the other state Senate races,” said Mark P. Jones, chairman of the political science department at Rice University in Houston. “For state-level office, the election cycle is SD 10 … It’s the real battleground.”
No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas in 20 years. And Jones also said only about 10 of the 150 state House seats are in doubt.
Davis narrowly won the state Senate seat from Republican incumbent Kim Brimer in 2008, and was re-elected in 2012 by less than 2.5 percentage points. That year, the next closest state Senate race in the general election was won by more than 18 percentage points.
Willis said District 10 is a true swing district. She said her precinct in 2012 voted for both Davis and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
The Burton campaign still considers it a GOP district that leans Republican by 7 or 8 percentage points. They point to the previous Republicans’ “lackluster” campaigns as factors in the Davis victories. Burton frequently criticizes “establishment Republicans.”
Burton, who came to prominence through the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party, shouldn’t have trouble mobilizing conservative voters.
Two other candidates, John Tunmire of the Green Party and Libertarian Gene Lord, have received a combined $200 in donations.
The major-party candidates have attracted the attention of donors with the deepest pockets in Texas, a repeat of two years ago. Houston attorney Steve Mostyn’s law firm and a political action committee he’s funded have given more than $860,000 to Willis’ campaign, while Annie’s List has donated $250,000. Another PAC, Texans for Insurance Reform, has provided $265,508 in in-kind donations.
In Burton’s campaign, the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC has donated more than $1.1 million worth of in-kind services, including TV commercials and direct mail. Burton has also received several other six-figure donations, and was notified that a company affiliated with conservative megadonors the Koch brothers intends to campaign on her behalf.
Jones said some of these big donors follow each other around the state, particularly if there is an obvious pro- and anti-tort-reform candidate.
“If Mostyn gives a huge amount to a candidate, TLR [Texans for Lawsuit Reform] always reacts,” he said.
The 2012 race between Davis and challenger Mark Shelton raised slightly more than this cycle.
Both Willis and Burton are seeking public office for the first time but have a history of grass-roots activism.
Burton, whose campaign did not make her available for an interview, was the vice president of the prominent Tarrant County Tea Party group. She also campaigned for two tea party favorites: Sen. Ted Cruz and state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford.
Cruz and his father, Rafael, a popular conservative speaker, have both endorsed Burton.
Burton considers the state budget her biggest issue, calling the large increase during last session an act of “fiscal irresponsibility.”
Campaign staffers said Burton has campaigned on pushing legislators to focus on basics as the state continues to grow. That means education, transportation and water need to be the highest priorities in the budget, while other issues must move lower on the list.
To accomplish part of that, Burton says she would dedicate the more than $1 billion generated annually by the motor vehicle sales tax to pay for transportation costs.
Burton has also said she’s the only candidate in the race talking about border security.
Willis came from a less-partisan background. She’s a longtime leader in historic preservation and has served as president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods and city and school district committees and boards.
“I see the Senate as an extension of that community service,” Willis said, who describes her opponent as “too extreme.”
One of the first priorities, she said, would be restoring education funding.
“The Legislature, over the last couple of sessions, has taken a sledgehammer to public funding for schools,” Willis said.
Legislators cut $5.4 billion in education funding in 2011 and restored $3.4 billion in 2013. Willis said she favors tapping the rainy day fund and perhaps some money from a potential budget surplus to get back to the 2011 funding level.
She also backs Proposition 1 on this fall’s ballot. That would take a portion of money that would go into the rainy day fund and use it for highway repairs and maintenance.
She also backed last year’s Proposition 6 to take $2 billion from the rainy day fund and loan it for water projects.
“I’m used to working with a lot of different kinds of people to solve problems,” Willis said. “That’s what we continue to need in Austin.”
BACKGROUND: Senate District 10
Republican
Konni Burton
Age: 51
Hometown: Colleyville
Birthplace: Kerrville
Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of North Texas
Career: Sales representative, Olmstead-Kirk Paper Co., mid-1980s; owner, Weddings Ltd., late 1980s-1992; vice president, Northeast Tarrant Tea Party, 2010-12; appointed, Tea Party Caucus Advisory Committee for Texas Legislature, 2011 and 2013
Family: Husband Phil Burton, two daughters
Website: konniburton.com
Democrat
Libby Willis
Age: 55
Hometown: Fort Worth
Birthplace: Abilene
Education: Bachelor’s degreee, Baylor University , 1981; master’s degree, Baylor University, 1982
Career: Regional director, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Texas-New Mexico office, 1984-1996; executive director, Historic Fort Worth Inc., 1998-2001; elected president, Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods, 2010, 2011, 2012; member, Fort Worth ISD District Advisory Committee, 2013-present; no previous political races
Family: Husband Doyle Willis Jr., two sons
Website: libbyfortexassenate.org
