AMARILLO,TEXAS -- We have gotten several emails from you, our viewers, asking us to look into the sources for all the cash that is financing the two republican candidates running for the 87th Texas house seat. Those candidates are business owner Victor Leal and attorney Four Price.
Gabrielle sent in this e-mail:
"Please review today's AGN article on the District 87 recent finance from the TEC. Wow is Leal being bought by big business down south? Looks like the majority of Price's funding comes from the Panhandle."
We've received several other e-mails along these same lines and they all want to know where the money is coming from. Is it from local people or people outside of the panhandle?
Pronews 7 set down with the finance forms from both candidates. We then added up all of the donations that came from outside the Panhandle, then subtracted that from the total listed on their finance forms filed with the Ethics Commission. Its important to point out these are the just the numbers from the most recent report. Here are the facts.
Leal has raised more money than Price his contributions add up to $140,875.49.
According to our math, just over $99,525.49 came from outside of our area, that represents about 70.6% of his contributions.
His biggest out of area donor is Bob Perry whose address is listed out of Houston. Perry has donated $65,000 to Leal's campaign.
Perry is a home builder downstate who reportedly spends millions on republican candidates across the state.
Pronews 7 spoke with a spokesman for Perry, we asked why he was interested in a race so far from where Perry lives.
Here's the statement we got in response to our query.
"Victor Leal is a small businessman who created over 1,000 jobs in this community. He is active in Leadership Amarillo and knows what it takes to make a payroll and fight excessive government programs, and is committed to a better life for the citizens of District 87."
It doesn't answer our question directly, but that's the response we received.
Now, let's take a look at Price's report he has $82,228.49. Of that, $31,996.10 came from outside the Panhandle which makes up 38.9% of his contributions.
Price's biggest out of area donation came from a Stacy Smith out of Dallas and was $10,000. Smith is a college friend from Dallas, and runs an investment firm.
We also spoke with both campaigns about the numbers we came up with.
Here is the response we received from Victor Leal.
"I am extremely humbled by the support we have received. My support is broad based from Panhandle Republicans leaders like David Swinford, Warren Chisum, Carl Isset and former Congressman Larry Combest to conservative groups like the Texas Farm Bureau, Young Conservatives of Texas and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. As a former Republican appointee to the Texas Tax Reform Commission, the Texas Economic Development Corporation and the Texas Facilities Commission, I have had the opportunity to work with Republicans from across this great state who also share the conservative values we have campaigned on and many of these conservatives have contributed too. Finally, I have not taken contributions from special interests tied to T. Boone Pickens because I am firmly committed to protecting our Panhandle natural resources from exploitation to other areas of the state."
Four Price's comment is this.
"I think this last report had some interesting things in it. If you look at all the reports filed today, and all the contributions to date: 73.13% of the money that Victor has received has come from outside the area, while 73.15% I have raised has come from within the Panhandle. Our total contributions to date are almost the same, but where they come from are drastically different. I think it says I am receiving a tremendous amount of support locally, I have more than 400 local donors, and he has less than 200. I think it means my campaign is receiving tremendous support locally, and he is receiving tremendous support from downstate.
I think that a man from Houston donating 65,000 to a Panhandle campaign, it is almost incomprehensible why someone from Houston has that much interest in this race. It's a mystery to me why he would have such an interest in a Panhandle race, and I don't know what he expects in return."
Other related links
To view the candidate interviews click here.
Candidates response to budget shortfall
Redistricting the Panhandle
Did Four Price sell water rights to Pickens?
Victor Leal's residency questioned
