Texas Speaker Phelan raises $2.9 million this election cycle


According to the most recent campaign finance reports made to the Texas Ethics Commission, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has raised $2,905,247 and spent $2,536,948 between Jan. 1, 2021 and Feb. 19, 2021. Rep. Phelan is the number nine fundraiser in state politics in the 2022 election cycle so far.

The speaker of the Texas House is the leader of the state’s lower chamber. Rep. Phelan is a member of the Republican Party and has served as a state representative since 2015. He is running for re-election in 2022.

Rep. Phelan’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2015-2021)

Source: Transparency USA

Contributions to Rep. Phelan

Of the $2.9 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 25.3 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Phelan (1/1/2021 – 2/19/2022)

RankDonor Name Total AmountType
1.$103,206.25Border Health PACEntity
2.$100,000.00Arch Aplin IIIIndividual
3.$100,000.00Michael Porter Family TrustEntity
4.$100,000.00Robert B RowlingIndividual
5.$75,000.00Thomas D WilliamsIndividual
6.$55,000.00Texans for Lawsuit Reform PACEntity
7.$50,233.61Richard WeekleyIndividual
8.$50,000.00Catherine and Sam L SusserIndividual
9.$50,000.00Friends of UT Southwestern Medical CenterEntity
10.$50,000.00Gary Gates JrIndividual

Expenditures by Rep. Phelan

On the expenditures side, Phelan reported $2.5 million, with 65.5 percent of all spending going to the 10 payees topping this list. 

Top Expenditures by Phelan (1/1/2021 – 2/19/2022)

RankPayee Name Total AmountType
1.$612,400.00Ragnar Research Partners LLCEntity
2.$195,106.21Murphy Nasica & AssociatesEntity
3.$183,039.36Department of US Treasury IRSEntity
4.$150,000.00Grant Public StrategiesEntity
5.$120,857.59Evan AutryIndividual
6.$100,000.00Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign FundEntity
7.$79,645.49Kelly MitchellIndividual
8.$75,341.80Bmm LLCEntity
9.$72,948.11Maricruz M BergmanIndividual
10.$72,366.07Julia J RathgeberIndividual

How Rep. Phelan’s fundraising compares to other state speakers

Among members of the state legislature, fundraising varies widely. A number of factors, including whether an incumbent officeholder is running for re-election, influence donor activity. Here is how fundraising by Phelan compares to the nine other state speakers with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA for the 2022 election cycle

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Fundraising reported by 10 state speakers in the 2022 election cycle

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Texas PACs submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report NameReport Due Date
2022 Jan Semiannual1/18/2022
2022 Pre-Primary (30 Days)1/31/2022
2022 Pre-Primary (8 Days)2/22/2022
2022 Primary Runoff5/16/2022
2022 Jul Semiannual7/15/2022
2022 Pre-General (30 Days)10/11/2022
2022 Pre-General (8 Days)10/31/2022
2022 Semiannual Data1/17/2023

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.