{"id":2104562,"date":"2023-11-21T05:40:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T10:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-billionaire-tim-dunn-spends-big-to-oust-sellout-republicans-but-whos-he-backing-to-replace-them\/"},"modified":"2023-11-21T05:43:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T10:43:02","slug":"texas-billionaire-tim-dunn-spends-big-to-oust-sellout-republicans-but-whos-he-backing-to-replace-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-billionaire-tim-dunn-spends-big-to-oust-sellout-republicans-but-whos-he-backing-to-replace-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Billionaire Tim Dunn Spends Big To Oust &#8216;Sellout Republicans.&#8217; But Who&#8217;s He Backing To Replace Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-billionaire-tim-dunn-spends-big-to-oust-sellout-republicans-but-whos-he-backing-to-replace-them%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2104562&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Oil Billionaire Tim Dunn&#8217;s Controversial Influence on Texas\u200d Politics<\/h2>\n<p>For the past two years, Texas oil \u2064billionaire Tim Dunn has been on a mission to &#8220;drain the Austin swamp,&#8221; as his group puts it.\u200b In a state dominated by high-profile Republicans like Governor Greg \u2064Abbott and Senators Ted \u2064Cruz and John Cornyn, Dunn&#8217;s super PAC, the Defend Texas Liberty \u200dPAC, has\u2062 been heavily funded by him to challenge \u2062what he calls &#8220;sellout Republicans in the Lone Star\u200b State.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However,\u2062 the candidates supported by\u200b Dunn&#8217;s money\u2062 have\u200d often found\u2063 themselves embroiled in scandal, from affairs and messy divorces\u2062 to involvement with \u2063pornographic websites, leading to their resignations or weakened electoral prospects.\u200c Despite targeting 19 Texas House incumbents in the 2022 primary \u2063cycle, all of whom ultimately prevailed against Defend Texas \u2064Liberty&#8217;s candidates, some Republicans are now questioning whether Dunn&#8217;s financial support is \u2062counterproductive.<\/p>\n<p>According to Marc \u200dMcCraig, a Republican activist,\u200c Dunn&#8217;s\u200d vetting failure in elevating candidates with personal scandals is hurting the GOP, especially as\u200c Democrats pour hundreds of millions of dollars into Texas. McCraig argues that attacking fellow Republicans \u2063in primaries is unnecessary when Democrats \u2064are \u200bactively trying to turn \u2063Texas blue and \u200bare willing \u2062to spend upwards of $100 million to achieve their goal.<\/p>\n<p>Cat Parks, former vice chairwoman of\u200c the Texas Republican Party, has\u2062 also criticized Dunn&#8217;s support for Defend Texas Liberty, accusing the PAC&#8217;s &#8220;rogue operatives&#8221;\u2062 of deceiving both Dunn and the grassroots movement in Texas. Parks believes that if Dunn \u2062fully\u200b understood the extent of what he has funded, he would be appalled.<\/p>\n<p>Since August 2021, Dunn has funneled $9.1 million to Defend\u2063 Texas Liberty. The PAC has backed eyebrow-raising candidates, including Bryan Slaton, who was expelled from the Texas House after admitting to having sex with an intoxicated intern. Another candidate, David Lowe, lost his primary bid after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-aps-empty-gesture\/\" title=\"The AP\u2019s Empty Gesture\">news reports revealed<\/a> his involvement in \u2062buying and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-billionaire-tim-dunn-spends-big-to-oust-sellout-republicans-but-whos-he-backing-to-replace-them\/\" title=\"Texas Billionaire Tim Dunn Spends Big To Oust 'Sellout Republicans.' But Who's He Backing To Replace Them?\">selling pornographic web domains<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While \u2062the Democratic\u2064 Party has yet \u200cto achieve significant electoral success in \u200dTexas,\u2063 recent years have shown progress. President Joe Biden improved on Hillary\u200b Clinton&#8217;s 2016 vote\u2063 share in \u2062the state, and \u2064Abbott&#8217;s 2022 reelection bid was the \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lee-zeldin-very-seriously-considering-campaign-to-oust-ronna-mcdaniel-as-rnc-chair\/\" title=\"Lee Zeldin \u2018Very Seriously Considering\u2019 Campaign To Oust Ronna McDaniel As RNC Chair\">closest gubernatorial race<\/a> in Texas since 2006. McCraig&#8217;s concern as a longtime Republican is that Dunn&#8217;s financial support will be wasted when it could\u2064 be used\u200d to fight liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Defend Texas Liberty has also faced criticism for its financial support\u200c of right-wing groups and firms with personnel issues. Pale Horse Strategies, a GOP consulting firm run by the PAC&#8217;s former executive director Jonathan Stickland, received nearly \u200d$1 million in 2022. The PAC has also contributed to Texas \u2063Right to Life, an \u200dactivist group whose former political director was sentenced to prison for attempting to solicit \u200ca minor for sex.<\/p>\n<p>Despite setbacks, Dunn and Defend Texas Liberty remain determined to challenge\u2064 incumbent Republican lawmakers. Their\u200c website lists \u200dTexas\u2063 House speaker Dade Phelan as their top target for 2024, accusing him \u2062of failing to pass all \u2062of the Republican Party of Texas&#8217; Legislative Priorities.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What concerns have been raised about Tim Dunn&#8217;s strategy of targeting fellow Republicans in primary elections<\/h2>\n<p><span>  To spend a fortune to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Dunn&#8217;s\u2064 influence on Texas politics can be traced back to his\u2062 vast wealth\u200d derived from his oil empire. As the owner of CrownQuest Operating, a West Texas-based oil and gas company, Dunn has amassed \u200da fortune estimated to be in the billions. His \u200bdeep pockets have allowed him to pour significant amounts of money into political campaigns and causes that \u200dalign with his conservative values.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is his controversial tactics and choice of candidates that have drawn criticism and raised\u2062 eyebrows. Dunn&#8217;s support \u200bfor candidates \u200bwith questionable personal histories has tarnished the reputation of the Republican Party\u200b in Texas. In recent years, several of the candidates backed by his super PAC \u2064have been\u200c caught up in scandalous\u200c affairs, messy divorces, and \u2062even links to\u2063 pornographic websites.<\/p>\n<p>These scandals have not only harmed the image of the Republican Party but have\u200b also resulted in the resignation or weakened electoral prospects of the candidates involved. The Defend Texas Liberty PAC&#8217;s\u2062 failures in vetting\u2062 candidates have raised questions about Dunn&#8217;s judgment and the effectiveness of his political strategy.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover,\u2062 targeting fellow Republicans in \u2062primary elections has also raised concerns among some within the party. Republican activist Marc McCraig argues that such intra-party attacks are unnecessary and counterproductive at a time when Democrats are actively trying to turn Texas blue. With Democratic candidates and organizations \u2062pouring \u2063hundreds \u2062of millions of dollars into the state, Republicans should\u2062 be focusing their efforts on defeating the opposing party rather than tearing each other apart.<\/p>\n<p>The upcoming 2022 primary cycle serves as a testament to the limited success of Dunn&#8217;s approach. Despite targeting 19 incumbents in the \u200cTexas House, all of whom ultimately prevailed against Defend Texas Liberty&#8217;s candidates, Dunn&#8217;s financial support did not translate into victory. This outcome has led some Republicans to question the \u200dwisdom of continuing to align\u200d themselves with Dunn and his controversial agenda.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, oil billionaire Tim Dunn&#8217;s controversial influence on\u200d Texas politics has not been without its consequences.\u200b While his financial resources have allowed him to challenge what he perceives as &#8220;sellout Republicans,&#8221; his choice of candidates and tactics have resulted in scandal and embarrassment\u2064 for the Republican Party. As Democrats continue to\u200b pour money\u2062 into Texas in \u200ctheir quest to turn it blue, some Republicans are beginning to question whether Dunn&#8217;s financial support \u2062is counterproductive. It remains to be seen whether \u200cDunn will alter his approach \u2064or\u2063 face a growing backlash from within his own\u2062 party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the last two years, Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn has spent millions to drain what his group has characterized as the &#8220;Austin swamp.&#8221; Texas is a ruby-red state represented by several well-known, high-profile Republicans, from its governor, Greg Abbott, to its senators, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. Abbott has put his conservative bonafides on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":2104563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2104562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2104562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2104563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2104562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2104562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2104562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}