Jones, Perot avoid Paxton after impeachment

As Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces the most serious political threat of his career due to bombshell allegations about his relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul, some of the biggest names in the industry skipped his most recent round of fundraising.

In the weeks after his May impeachment, Paxton raised $1.7 million, a sum he calls a personal record, according to a campaign finance disclosure. 

In May, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives, charged with bribery and abuse of power on behalf of Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, among other misdeeds.

While the most recent report covers the year through July 15, Texas legislators cannot raise money when they are in session. That means Paxton, whose impeachment came at the tail end of the legislature’s regular biennial session, officially raised the money within the handful of weeks since members of his own party moved against him. 

Paxton’s single largest real estate donor was Dallas magnate Monty Bennett, who contributed $100,000 in late June. The Ashford Hospitality Trust executive has given vast sums to Paxton before, including $50,000 donations in 2022 and 2016.

Only three individuals gave more than Bennett. Gary Heavin, founder of gym chain Curves, donated $500,000, making him Paxton’s top individual supporter. The second and third biggest benefactors were oil and gas executives. 

Bobby Bowling, co-owner of Tropicana Properties, an El Paso-based homebuilder, gave Paxton $10,000. While Bowling is a prolific donor to members of both parties, his June 30 donation appears to be his first to the attorney general, according to records from campaign finance database OpenSecrets.

Some prominent real estate donors in past cycles skipped this round of fundraising. Jerry Jones, who gave Paxton $200,000 last year, does not appear in the latest filing. Neither does H. Ross Perot of Hillwood, who gave the attorney general $25,000 in each of the past two years.

Of course, Paxton faced a tough reelection fight in 2022, which helps explain the timing of Jones’ and Perot’s donations. Paxton won’t appear on a ballot again until 2026, so if they are just election-season donors, it makes sense they skipped this year. But Paxton has been fundraising heavily off of the impeachment proceedings, and no doubt sought to make a show of force with the most recent report. 

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As some bigwigs stepped off the field, a handful of smaller real estate professionals made first-time donations. Jay Hester, the Fort Worth-based owner of Hester Investments who listed his occupation as “Realtor” on his donation, gave $5,000 on June 24. James Mabrey, a Dallas developer specializing in large tract assemblage and lot entitlement, gave $2,900 to Paxton’s campaign. 

Scott Rohrman, the CEO of 42 Real Estate, and whom D Magazine called “the man who bought Deep Ellum,” pitched in $2,500. He has donated that much to Paxton two other times in the past.