Political action committees play a big role in who wins elections, spending millions on national and statewide races.
But a city council election in Irving highlights how those committees — or PACs — have spent big money on local elections as well. Two political action committees have spent more than $105,000 to support candidates in that city.
That includes Families for Irving, a local political action committee that spent around $15,500 on the three candidates it backed. The PAC’S principles include “traditional family values," school choice and single-family housing. It promotes candidates that align with its values.
It's an illustration of how while state and national politics are important, local elections impact people's daily lives, said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
"Oftentimes it's because they have an ideological commitment that they want to pursue across the country or across a particular state, like Texas," Jillson said.
Most recently, another group called Texans for Fiscal Responsibility paid for texts sent out during early voting in Irving, alleging the resort company Las Vegas Sands was involved in that election. It's unclear how much the group spent on the texts — its latest campaign finance report was not available on the Texas Ethics Commission website.
“We urge every Irving voter to reject this hostile takeover of local government,” the group said in a statement posted on its website. “Your city — and our state’s future — are too important to gamble away.”
Las Vegas Sands wanted a zoning change approved in Irving earlier this year to allow for a destination resort with a casino gaming element.
While the Families for Irving PAC does not have an official stance on casino gaming, its candidates have been vocal in their opposition to Las Vegas Sands.
Right before early voting started, a 501(c)(4) organization called the Lone Star Conservative Action Fund poured more than $93,000 on opponents to the Families for Irving PAC.
The group's principal officer is Aaron De Leon, owner and president of consulting firm Leon Strategies. The consulting firm has worked with Republican campaigns along with the Texans for Opportunity and Prosperity PAC, which received tens of thousands of dollars from the resort company Las Vegas Sands. (De Leon has not responded to KERA’s requests for comment.)
Outside of Irving, PACs have poured tens of thousands of dollars into elections across North Texas.
A PAC's ideological push can be social and not simply economical, Jilson said.
"If you want to make sure that the books in your local school libraries are satisfactory to conservatives, you might want to support conservative candidates in every school board race that comes up across the state," he said. "And you don't live in that district, but you care about whether the kids in that district have access to certain kinds of books or not."
At least four PACs got involved in Fort Worth’s mayoral race. The Accountable Government Fund, Fort Worth Firefighters Committee for Responsible Government, the Ryan Texas PAC, and For the Children PAC all contributed money for Mattie Parker’s reelection.
Their combined donations contributed $60,000 to her million-dollar campaign.
The Accountable Leadership Committee spent $50,000 to support two candidates facing incumbents on the Prosper ISD school board. The Texas Ethics Commission is set to review the contribution after allegations the PAC broke election laws.
The contribution was referred to as “dark money” by the man who filed the complaint, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Dark money" is a term used to describe legal ways to get money into the political system without disclosing donors.
Brian Roberts, a University of Texas at Austin government professor, said "dark money" most often refers to 501(c)(4)s because they legally do not have to disclose their donors.
"It's when names are legally shielded from disclosure, whose money then ends up making or supporting independent expenditures," Roberts said.
The Lone Star Conservative Action Fund — which paid for campaign signs in Irving right as early voting started — classifies as a "dark money" group under that definition because of its 501(c)(4) status.
Unlike political parties, PACs are more selective on where they spend money and will only do so if there is potential for real payoff, Roberts said. Their expenditures can dramatically affect the outcome of an election.
"You come in at the eleventh hour and it doesn't give the other side time to organize," Roberts said. "Up to that point, they didn't see any big money."
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