Texas Republican convention splits with corporate sponsors | Wilnesh News

abraham george The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is about to take the helm, and the influential state political organization is jettisoning its longstanding alliance with corporate America.

Instead, the RPT is embracing the anti-corporate, anti-elite populist agenda that has taken off among Republicans nationwide in the Trump era.

annual texas republican convention It began Thursday in San Antonio and culminated with George’s election as party chairman. Fortune 500 companies have long provided lucrative corporate sponsorships of the event. But this year, the names of its largest past sponsors disappeared from banners and agendas.

Verizon, Comcast and union pacific Reportedly Sponsored 2020 Texas Republican Convention Texas Tribune. But this year they are not listed as supporters.

Pepsi and Chevron yes Sponsor session of the Texas Republican National Convention in 2022, but they do not support this year’s event.

Spokespeople for Verizon, Comcast, PepsiCo and Chevron did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Union Pacific said only that the company’s “political donations are bipartisan and publicly disclosed in accordance with state and federal law.”

George won the state’s party leadership election on Friday, and the race for corporate funding has heated up.

Veteran Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak is among the candidates vying to be the next state Republican chairman. in a memorandum When Markowiak announced his candidacy, he lamented that “corporate fundraising for the party is virtually non-existent.”

Griffin Perry, a Texas businessman and son of Republican former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, said earlier this week it was time for the party to pivot back to working with businesses.

“The next chairman needs to work with our company,” Perry told CNBC. “There’s no reason why the Texas Republican Party shouldn’t have the support of business.”

As for the lack of corporate sponsorship this year, Perry blamed the leadership team that was replaced on Friday. Before electing the state’s new president, he said the group “wears it as a badge of honor.”

In fact, RPT Communications Director James Wesolek told CNBC, “The Republican Party is the party of hard-working Americans, not woke corporations seeking to destroy the America we love.”

Wesolek denied that the disappearance of traditional sponsors had affected this week’s Assembly of States Parties.

“The party fully funded our convention and the sponsors did not ask us to compromise our values,” he said.

This year’s sponsor list consists almost entirely of political action committees and campaigns, with few corporate sponsors.

As of Thursday, the only two publicly traded companies on the sponsorship list were tobacco giants Altria and Houston’s electric and natural gas utilities. Center Point Energy.

Patriot Mobile, which claims to be the only “christian conservative wireless provider,” is also listed, as is Conn’s HomePlus.

But it’s not just the Texas Republican Party’s state convention that is losing corporate sponsorship.

According to statistics, corporate contributions to the state party’s general fundraising account have fallen to their lowest level in at least a decade. Texas Tribune.

It’s been eight years since the tech giant Google Donated to the Texas Republican Party, according to campaign finance records.

Six other companies have similar situations, including BNSF Railway, a railroad giant headquartered in the Lone Star State. According to records, BSNF last donated $5,000 to the Texas Republican Party in 2019.

Since then, BNSF or Google haven’t pumped any more money into the state’s coffers, according to campaign finance reports. A Google representative declined to comment. BNSF did not respond to a request for comment.

However, Verizon and Union Pacific have each donated at least $5,000 to the Texas Republican Party this year, according to campaign finance records.

Some companies that were once regular supporters of the Texas Republican Party are now retaining funds as the party continues to move further to the right, according to state campaign finance records.

Political activists and fundraisers in the state told CNBC that these one-time corporate sponsors have been put off by Texas Republicans’ growing anti-corporate rhetoric, vicious infighting and some increasingly conservative policy positions.

For example, a 2022 law bans all abortions in Texas except in rare extreme cases and allows for the prosecution of doctors and medical professionals. In 2023, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott signs bill Providing gender-affirming medical services to minors is prohibited.

Earlier this year, Texas Public school investment fund pulls $8.5 billion from administration black stone, allegedly due to the company’s reluctance to invest in fossil fuels. BlackRock denies the accusation.

“I can understand why businesses wouldn’t want to attend the convention because they appear to be supporting a (Republican) organization that attacks Republican public officials,” said Wayne Hamilton, a longtime Republican operative who served as executive director of the RPT.

Hamilton and other political consultants who spoke to CNBC noted how the state took the unusual step of formally censuring House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Tony Phelan, R-Texas. Gonzalez.

Phelan is reprehensible For his role in the impeachment of a Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton. Gonzalez criticized for bipartisan support gun safety laws in Congress and voted for a bill to codify civil rights Same-sex marriage.

While the denunciations had few tangible legal consequences, they had real political consequences for Phelan and Gonzalez: Both will face runoffs in the May 28 Republican primary.

Revealed: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.