Author: carol@stormzero.com

Because you asked

I’ve been asked quite a few times who I recommend on the ballot. I’ve written a lengthy endorsement for the Attorney General’s race. Since tomorrow is election day, I’m going to share a few other recommendations.

US SENATE
Ken Paxton. Paxton has been a bulldog for Texans and Texas Values in his role as Attorney General. His opponents have not. Texas desperately needs a strong voice representing conservative Texans in the US Senate.

US HOUSE – CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 27
Michael Cloud. Michael Cloud is a strong Texas conservative and votes accordingly. He has earned positions on the Appropriations Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He deserves to be returned to Congress.

GOVERNOR
“Doc” Pete Chambers. Governor Abbott has, overall, done a good job for Texas. However, his endorsement of legislators based on one vote (School Choice) was inappropriate. I loved his bussing of illegals throughout the country as it brought that issue front and center for places that weren’t feeling our pain. I didn’t like his Covid decisions. Keeping big box stores open and forcing small businesses to close was unacceptable. Forcing bars to close because more than 50% of their revenue was alcohol while allowing restaurants to open and serve lacked consistency. Too many appointments and decisions seem to be made due to campaign financial support and I oppose that. Doc has said he will not appoint people to positions if they donate large amounts of money to his campaign. Refreshing.

LT GOVERNOR
Perla Hopkins. When Dan Patrick pushed for half a billion dollars for the movie industry every 2 years, he lost my vote. Texas Scorecard explained “The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Fund would receive $500 million every two years over the next decade, amounting to $2.5 billion by the 2034-2035 biennium.” If I wanted to support that industry, I’d go to the movies. I’m frankly sick of dolling out tax money to the favorite industry of the day…. especially one that has no impact on my quality of life.

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Aaron Reitz. I’m strongly endorsing Aaron Reitz for Attorney General. Not only is he Ken Paxton’s choice for the next AG, but he has the tenacity, core values, and strength of character to protect Texas and to manage over 4,000 employees. Read my entire endorsement.

COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS, PLACE 3
Lesli Fitzpatrick. Lesli is the most qualified candidate. She has a broad range of legal experience including significant criminal courtroom experience. She had her own legal practice, has worked for the State of Texas in a position that provided extensive knowledge of the Texas prison system. This race is for a seat on the highest criminal court in Texas, the one that reviews every death penalty case. Lesli is a solid conservative Republican. With her criminal courtroom experience, Lesli is the best choice.

TEXAS HOUSE DISTRICT 17
Tom Glass. If you’ve been to your mailbox lately, you’ll understand this endorsement. More than 125 Political Action Committees have donated to Tom’s opponent. Texans for Lawsuit Reform has donated well over a quarter of a million dollars to Tom’s opponent. If you want a legislator that answers to the big money donors, vote for the other guy. But if you want a legislator who fights for conservative Texans in his district, vote for Tom Glass.

BASTROP COUNTY JUDGE
Don Loucks. I was shocked when, at a candidate forum, our current County Judge had to ask the emcee what an NGO is. What?? He’s reviewing, voting for, and presiding over a multi-million dollar budget that includes tax dollar payments to NGOs and he doesn’t know what one is. He struggles to run a meeting as seen by those who were at the last County Commissioner’s meeting: taking testimony after an item had already been tabled. That violates Robert’s Rules.

Don’s opponent has shown that he does not have the skill set to make decisions for a county whose population is exploding. The County Judge literally has the lives of over 100,000 Bastrop County residents in his hands. We need a leader trained in emergency management, who understands budgets and taxes, who is conversant with the public safety needs of a growing Texas county. We need a strong, conservative leader and that’s Don Loucks.

Bought?

Did you see when Stan said on Facebook that he didn’t have any idea some of these mailers were coming from PACs until they arrived in his mailbox? Now that the 8-day prior to the election reports are out, we have a broader view of where the money is sourced.

Stan’s consulting company (Catalyst Advisors Group LLC) is also the consulting company for Protect and Serve Texas PAC. This PAC received $15,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform. They’ve sent several mailers for Stan.

Then there’s the Alliance of Texans for Conservative Leadership PAC. In our last post, we told you their only report to Texas Ethics showed they had no money. Zero.

Their 8-day report is very revealing. This PAC received $1.6 MILLION on February 5 this year. Yes, that’s right. Just 21 days ago, Texans for Lawsuit Reform put $1.6 MILLION into Alliance of Texans for Conservative Leadership PAC. They are the sole donor to this PAC. They then spent $692,762.63 on mailers. They failed to list the amount spent on each candidate, but Stan was a recipient, not once, but three times.

Candidates also have to file an 8-Day prior (to the election) report. We’ve already discussed the donations to Stan Gerdes from PACs in Sneaky but Legal Part 1 and Part 2.

The 8-day prior report covers just 30 days: Jan 23, 2026 – Feb 21, 2026.

Gerdes took in a whopping $549,682.65 in donations in that one month, overwhelmingly from Political Action Committees, not from district constituents.

Has someone been working the phones to raise money from Texas PACs and across the country to save his seat? Is Gerdes getting very nervous about the challenge from Tom Glass? This is a very long list of PAC donors directly to Gerdes in just 30 days.

  • Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC $237,448 (does not include their donations to PACs that sent mailers for Gerdes);
  • Weekley, Richard (co-founder Texans for Lawsuit Reform) $2,500;
  • Texas Conservative Majority PAC $67,750;
  • Dustin Burrows Campaign $50,000;
  • Protect and Serve Texas PAC $35,150.89;
  • Texas REALTORS PAC (TREPAC) $28,842.34;
  • Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund $19,259.83;
  • Troutman Pepper Locke LLP $5,473.25;
  • Texas House Republican Caucus PAC $5,000;
  • TX Diamondback Energy, Inc. PAC $4,000;
  • Texas Building Branch Asso General Contractors PAC $2,500;
  • Koch Industries, Inc. PAC (KOCHPAC) $2,500;
  • Rural Friends of Texas Electric Cooperatives $2,500;
  • Pape-Dawson Engineers PAC $2,500;
  • Texans for Reasonable Solutions PAC $2,000;
  • Texas Dairymen PAC $2,000;
  • Delisi Communications PAC $2,000;
  • Texas Manufactured Housing Assn. Committee For Responsible $2,000;
  • Texas Food & Fuel Assn. PAC $1,500;
  • Texas Society Of Anesthesiologists PAC $1,500;
  • AT&T Texas PAC $1,000;
  • Beer Alliance of Texas PAC $1,000;
  • Charter Schools Now PAC $1,000;
  • Congress Ventures LLC $1,000;
  • ConocoPhillips SPIRIT PAC $1,000;
  • Consulting Engineers PAC $1,000;
  • The American Electric Power – Texas – Committee for Responsible $1,000;
  • EYE PAC of the Texas Ophthalmological Assn $1,000;
  • Houston Police Officers Union PAC $1,000;
  • K & L Gates LLP Committee for Good Government $1,000;
  • Germania Farm Mutual PAC $1,000;
  • Gulf States Toyota Inc. State PAC $1,000;
  • H B Strategies (Jefferson City MO) $1,000;
  • Mike Toomey & Associates $1,000;
  • Moak Casey PAC $1,000;
  • NRG Energy Inc. PAC $1,000;
  • Stan Schlueter Consulting $1,000;
  • Texas Farm Bureau AGFUND $1,000;
  • Texas Optometric PAC $1,000;
  • Texas Pipeline Assn PAC $1,000;
  • Tenaris Global Services (USA) Corp. PAC $1,000;
  • Texas Nurse Practitioners PAC $1,000;
  • PNM Responsible Citizens Group (Albuquerque NM) $750;
  • Greenberg Traurig, P. A. PAC (Albany NY) $750;
  • Texas Chemistry Council/Assn. Of Chemistry Alliance FREEPAC $500;
  • Texas State Assn. Of Fire Fighters Action Committee $500;
  • ExxonMobil Corp PAC $500;
  • Hochheim Prairie PAC $500;
  • Longbow Consulting Partners LLC $500;
  • ONEOK Inc Employee PAC (Tulsa OK) $500;
  • P. John Kuhl Jr., PC $500;
  • Sampson Public Affairs, LLC $500;
  • Texas Dental Association PAC $500;
  • Schwartz, Page & Harding, L.L.P. $500;
  • Liriano Motors LLC $250;
  • Texas Conservative Coalition PAC $40;

After the 8-day prior report, daily reports over a certain amount of contribution and expenditure are required. Gerdes reported this daily contribution: AFSCME Texas Correctional Officers PAC $5,000.

Ask yourself when you vote: who will Stan represent in Austin: you or these PACs? If your issue conflicts with their priorities, with whom will he vote? The answer is clear if he wants to stay in elected office (or move higher up the ladder which requires more and more money).

Think about it before you cast your vote.

In Memory of Charlie Kirk

If nationwide reporting happens, it’s good to have it be positive reporting. That’s not what happened to Bastrop County TX. After the Bastrop County Commissioners’ caved in the face of opposition on the Charlie Kirk Memorial Corridor resolution, articles appeared in “The Hill“, “The Western Journal” and it was a subject on the Charlie Kirk Show.

Something similar happened when I was mayor of Denville NJ. My office got a call from a gentleman in Denneville France. Denneville is in Normandie, a small farming town with a beautiful beach area. Interestingly enough, the Ile of Jersey is just off the coast. Pierre Oheix had hoped we could establish a connection between our small towns. Both of us wondered if there was an historical connection.

I was a French major in college so was pretty excited about this possibility. I had the opportunity to travel to Denneville while mayor. An American flag was flown at the entrance to town when I arrived. There was a ceremony in town hall, a dinner with their state officials. What memories. Upon my return, though, the town council refused any connection. Why? Politics pure and simple. The press was quite negative toward the Council’s decision. Leadership in another town even wrote a letter to our paper stating that if Denville didn’t want to be sister cities, they gladly would do so.

Political foolishness. Just like the Bastrop County Commissioners back-peddling from an opportunity to honor a man whose life was savagely taken through political violence.

Postings on social media made it obvious people had not read the resolution and didn’t understand it. For days I had been posting on various forums that this was not a renaming of the highway but rather a request to the legislature for the designation of a memorial corridor.  Additionally, people kept claiming Charlie had no connection to the County.

That’s flat out wrong.  In 2019, I personally invited Charlie to speak in Bastrop County.  I was president of the Lost Pines Republican Women and we contracted for 8/29/2020.  Due to Covid, that event had to be cancelled and we rescheduled for May 1, 2021. 

Charlie Kirk at the Convention CenterWe were so lucky to host Charlie in Bastrop County.  Having had the privilege of meeting him and talking with him, I’m very disappointed and saddened at how fast our all-Republican Commissioner’s Court caved on this issue.  Elected officials need to have solid core beliefs that guide them.  They cannot back down from that which is right just because some people don’t agree with them or for purely political reasons. Imagine if Charlie had lived his life that way…. TPUSA wouldn’t exist. 

Charlie was a very religious man who gave everyone a chance to express their opinions, to ask questions, to discuss. He was not argumentative. What came through was his strong core values, deep faith and love of family. I was privileged to have met him and hope the day comes when our County Commissioners change their minds.

Financials~Local Races

DEMOCRATS WITH OPPONENTS

Dock Jackson: County Judge: Hasn’t filed one report for this election cycle: no Jan.15; no 30-day prior; no 8-day prior. Hasn’t even filed a treasurer appointment for this race.

Tamara McIntyre: JP1: Hasn’t filed one report: no Jan.15; no 30-day prior; no 8-day prior. Hasn’t even filed a treasurer appointment.

Ruth Todd: JP2: Did not file 30-day prior or 8-day prior. Did file a report that she had exceeded the modified reporting limit.

Rachel Turman-Smith: JP4: Hasn’t filed one report: no Jan.15; no 30-day prior; no 8-day prior. Hasn’t even filed a treasurer appointment.

REPUBLICANS WITH OPPONENTS

Don Loucks: County Judge: All required reports filed.

Gregory Klaus: County Judge: All required reports filed.

Holly Cox: District Clerk: All required reports filed.

Ward Northcutt: District Clerk: No 30-day prior or 8-day prior report filed. All other required reports filed.

Sarah Loucks: District Clerk: No 8-day prior report filed. All other required reports filed.

Tammy Batot: District Clerk: All required reports filed.

Sneaky but legal: Voter Beware Part 2

Not all PACs are created equal. There are Federal PACs, Federal Super PACs, Texas GPACs, Texas MPACs, Texas SPACs and others. They all operate under different rules.

A Texas GPAC has to file income and expense reports with the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) every January 15 and July 15. If it’s an election year and they have involvement on behalf of a candidate or issue, they have to file 30-day prior and 8-day prior (to the election) reports. And, subject to certain dollar amounts, a GPAC must file daily reports for receipts and expenditures “during the Daily reporting period”.

A Texas SPAC is like a GPAC, but is focused solely on one issue. Fundraising and expenses are restricted to that issue. Only state-wide issues are reported to Texas Ethics. All others are reported locally.

A Texas PAC can choose to file monthly with the Texas Ethics Commission. They become an MPAC. Here’s where it gets shady. MPACs have to file monthly but don’t have to do the 30-day and 8-day prior reports. They do have to report receipts and expenditures over certain amounts daily for the 9 days prior to an election. That’s election day, not the beginning of early voting.

For example: February is the month before the March 3 primary. MPAC reports aren’t due until March 5, after the election. And, unless the expense (think mailing) is paid for during the 9 day prior reporting period, voters will not even be able to see that expenditure until after the election.

WHO’S PAYING FOR THE MAILERS?

Gerdes Primary Lit 2026In Stan Gerdes’ case, the following MPACs who sent mailers are monthly reporters: Texas Realtors Political Action Committee, AFC Victory Fund, and Texas Conservative Fund.

Supporting Federal PACs include Alliance for Children and American Energy Action Fund. Their data is available at OpenSecrets.org.

The following are GPACs that have sent mailers for Gerdes: Protect and Serve Texas PAC, Texas Action PAC, Alliance of Texans for Conservative Leadership PAC.

Candidates spend a lot of money with consultants to manage all this. So….

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Stan Gerdes has spent one MILLION dollars with a consulting firm called Murphy Nasica & Associates from January 11, 2022 through the end of 2024. That’s $1,001,502.91 for consulting and advertising in just 3 years according to TEC records. For 2025 into 2026, the consulting firm is Catalyst Advisors Group. They’ve been paid more than $60,000 in that time.

More than 125 PACs have donated money to Gerdes totaling more than $800,000 in the 4 years since he first ran for the legislature. That doesn’t count contributions from TX House Speaker Dustin Burrows of $38,800 or the $164,000+ from past-Speaker Dade Phelan after voting for each of them for Speaker.

Money, money, money. And all this for a position that pays just $7,200 annually. Again, it’s all legal. But don’t you wonder why so much money is involved for a position in a legislature that meets every other year?

My advice: voter be aware, and beware, when casting your vote.

Sneaky but legal: Voter Beware

UPDATE: Today four Stan Gerdes flyers arrived, all from Political Action Committees OUTSIDE Texas. Ask yourself why Alexandria VA PACs want Stan Gerdes in the Texas House so badly that they’ll do 4 mailings in one day? Two of the four have the same treasurer. Hmmmm…….
(1) from American Energy Action Fund. This is a Federal PAC, Alexandria VA
(2) from Texas Conservative Fund. Established 1/2026 in Alexandria VA.
(3) from Texas Action PAC. Established 9/2025 in Alexandria VA.
(4) from AFC Victory Fund. Established 10/2023 in Alexandria VA.

I’ve written before about the value (or not) of endorsements. I’ve explained my rules for reading campaign literature. I’ve talked about desperate candidates and “going negative”. But these latest revelations really take the cake.

Political Action Committee or PAC. What is it? Texas Ethics Commission defines PACs as follows:

  • A political committee that supports or opposes two or more candidates who are unidentified or who are seeking offices that are unknown is a general-purpose political committee.
  • A political committee that supports or opposes candidates, all of whom are identified and are seeking offices that are known, is a specific-purpose political committee.

Reporting requirements are the same. Spending money to influence a question or candidate requires a 30-day prior and 8-day prior election finance report.

What seems to be happening more and more is that PACs are being formed by consultants or people closely aligned with a campaign. They use names that include words like “Conservative” or “Safety” or “Protect”. Those names appear in the “Paid for by” and the average voter who doesn’t have time to spend hours researching a PAC think the organization and its support are a big deal.

In reality, it’s all marketing to sell you on a candidate.

At the very least, check to see if they have a website. Check the address of the organization. Visit Texas Ethics where you can download a list of active PACs. Choose “Search/View a Filed Report”, then “List of Active PACs”.

Download that Excel sheet, filter for PACs started in 2026 and you’ll find 78 of them. That’s right. SEVENTY-EIGHT PACs have been formed in Texas just since the start of 2026.

Let’s take the mailer that arrived a few days ago from “Alliance of Texans for Conservative Leadership PAC”. That PAC was started January 31, 2026. It’s address is Dallas TX. It’s treasurer is Marshall C. Bumpus with an address of 8558 Katy Freeway Ste 105, Houston TX 77024.

Any idea how much it costs to mail such a piece? Thousands!

But cleverly, this PAC, formed in January, mailed this piece AFTER the required “30-day prior” financial filing. Here’s a copy of that filing for this PAC: No income, no expenses, no candidate supported, NOTHING. All zeros. Yet, this glossy mailer supporting Stan Gerdes shows up in our mailboxes.

Powered By EmbedPress


Complete shenanigans meant to deceive YOU, the voter.

If a candidate is willing to play these games, use these cleverly-created PACs to make you think they’re a very popular candidate, will that person also play these same games in Austin? You can bet on it. It directly points to the candidate’s character: they’re willing to deceive.

Drain the swamp means drain the swamp. It means voting for honest leadership, not clever gamesmanship.

Your vote. You decide. My vote will go to Tom Glass, supported by individuals not cleverly-created, out-of-district PACs.

Read Between the Lines

Original post published Feb 13, 2024. Reprinted because it’s applicable for the 2026 election cycle.

People collect things. I collect campaign literature. I have campaign literature going back probably 30 years. Some is good; some is awful; some is clever; some really, really boring. Some has colors that are just atrocious. Some was done with nary a thought for the low-vision user. Some is just evidence the candidate doesn’t know what they’re doing, or worse, why they’re running.

Campaign literature is sales literature. The candidate is selling you on why they’d be the best in the position. Here are my four rules when it’s campaign time: Don’t be fooled or swayed by photographs in the mailers; Know what the candidate can and cannot do in office; Read carefully; Find and research the legally required “paid for by”.

Rule #1: Don’t be fooled or swayed by photographs in the mailers.

Some candidates use photos of themselves with their families or children. Why? To tug at your heart strings… “Oh isn’t that cute!” Cute isn’t what you need from an elected official. Candidates need conviction and back-bone. They need to be strong, not sway the way the wind blows. They don’t need to be cute.

Carol Spencer with Monica CrowleyWhy do some of them use photos with famous elected officials? To make you think that person supports their candidacy. But do they? This is Monica Crowley and me a few years ago at a GOP event. Having a photo with her didn’t mean she endorsed my candidacy. The same is true of photos with Kellyanne Conway, Rudy Guiliani, Sarah Palin, Ken Paxton, Sid Miller, Governor Abbott and so many others with whom I’ve been photographed over the years. Photos with famous politicos, unless accompanied by the words “Endorsed by [name of person in photo]”, should be interpreted as manipulative, meant to make the candidate look important or to make the reader think that person has endorsed the candidate.

A list of endorsements by others, but not the person in the photo, when used together is pure deception. Back to top

Rule #2: Know what the candidate can and cannot do in office.

Someone running for a legislative position cannot do anything without a majority vote of the body in which they serve (city council, TX House, TX Senate, US House, US Senate). They cannot fix the border or cut government spending. And usually, the executive (mayor, governor, president) has to sign any passed legislation to make it law.

Someone running for an executive position can only do that which the charter or constitution allows. And, a great deal of what is allowed requires a vote of the legislative body: budgets, capital spending for example.

This is called “checks and balances”.

When an incumbent running for re-election says they accomplished this or that, no they didn’t. They cast one vote for legislation to make that happen. Perhaps they swayed colleagues to do the same. But in the end, without a majority vote and a supportive executive, nothing they support will ever come to pass.

And, remember what position they’re running for… a mayor cannot close the border, fund medicare or fix social security issues. A congressman can’t get local roads paved. Back to top

Rule #3: Read carefully

Beware the use of “conservative”. Does a true conservative support Democrat chairs in the legislature? Does a true conservative celebrate being endorsed by staunch Democrats? Does a conservative group endorse candidates who previously voted Democrat?

There’s a big difference between “voted to close the border” and “closed the border” but you’ll see both on campaign literature.

“Most experienced” is something else you’ll often see. If you don’t know what the requirements of the position include, how will you evaluate “most experienced”? If the person has always been a chief executive, but is running for a legislative position, that person probably does not have the requisite experience. A chief executive calls the shots. A legislator must count votes for bill passage and must sway a majority to his/her line of thinking. These are very different skill sets. Back to top

Rule #4: Find and research the legally required “paid for by”

All campaign advertisements must include who paid for them. This is critical to know. Did the candidate (well, actually, the candidate’s donors) pay for the mailer? Did some PAC (political action committee) pay for it?

If a PAC paid for it, ask yourself what that PAC expects to get for the expenditure of funds. Mailers are very expensive: design, printing, mailing costs. A county-wide GOP mailer can easily cost $5,000.

Do an online search for the PAC itself and see what it’s about. Go to OpenSecrets.org for Federal PACs and see who else got money from that PAC. Go to Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) for State PACs.

This is also true of the various emails requesting money. Where’s it going? Watch carefully. Sometimes something will appear to be for a candidate, but the money you donate is going elsewhere. Be careful! Back to top