For more than 40 years, Texas Right to Life has fought the culture wars in the Lone Star State and become the go-to brand for life issues. Recently, left-leaning Republicans who do not receive their support have begun relying on one-off entities to give them the sheen of respectability on what is a hot-button primary issue.
According to a report filed with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) on Monday night, embattled State Sen. John Carona sent $20,177.80 to the “Life P.A.C.” on Feb. 19, 2014. The report claims that the PAC, in turn, spent exactly $20,177.80–the exact same amount–on Feb. 20, 2014, for “printing, postage & graphic design of PAC mailing” in support of John Carona’s re-election bid.
According to the filing, the treasurer of the Life P.A.C. is Sheree Havlik of Arlington. She did not respond to an interview request from Breitbart Texas. Her PAC uses the same phone number as Texans for Life Coalition, headed by Kyleen Wright, who also did not respond to messages.
Carona not only has failed to earn the endorsement of social conservatives like Texas Right to Life and Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams, he was recently listed as the most liberal Republican in the Texas Senate in a non-partisan study by the chairman of Rice University’s political science department.
The other notable donor is the political action committee of House Speaker Joe Straus, a San Antonio Republican. His Texas House Leadership Fund sent $25,000 to Ms. Wright’s PAC on Feb. 13, 2014.
According to documents Wright filed with the TEC, the only candidates besides Carona the PAC has spent money assisting are three incumbent legislators who did not receive endorsements from Texas Right to Life. Those include: Jim Keffer of Eastland, Byron Cook of Corsicana and Ralph Sheffield of Temple.
All three are facing re-election challenges. In fact, Sheffield is being challenged by Molly White, who has worked professionally in the pro-life movement for two decades as the founder of “Women for Life International” and the legislative director of Operation Outcry.
Follow Michael Quinn Sullivan on Twitter @MQSullivan
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.