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Money from outside House District 21, and Texas, dominates fundraising in Phelan-Covey race | Houston Public Media

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Money from outside House District 21, and Texas, dominates fundraising in Phelan-Covey race | Houston Public Media


Dade Phelan Facebook, Dave Covey Facebook

House Speaker Dade Phelan and candidate Dave Covey

Early voting in the May 28 Texas primary runoffs ends today. One of the highest-profile contests in the state is the Republican runoff in House District 21 between Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan and former Orange County GOP chairman David Covey. The race could prove the most expensive state legislative contest in Texas history.

Monday night, former Governor Rick Perry introduced Speaker Phelan to a capacity crowd at Courville’s, a Cajun restaurant and catering venue just off US-90 in Beaumont. One of the first things Phelan did as he took the stage was to apologize to his family.

“I apologize for your mailboxes,” Phelan said. “I apologize for what you’ve seen on TV. The lies, the lies, the lies are unimaginable. We’ve never seen anything like it in the history of Southeast Texas.”

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Dade Phelan

Andrew Schneider

House Speaker Dade Phelan speaks at a campaign event at Courville’s.

Phelan was referring to the political attack ads directed at him. He’s running for his sixth term in the Texas House and claimed the money spent on House District 21 is breaking state records. It’s certainly having an outsized impact in the district, a three-county region along the Louisiana border that’s also known as “the Golden Triangle.”

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“I’ll remind you, when you buy $100,000 in TV in Beaumont, it’s like buying $500,000 in Houston,” he said.

And the money is not just going into TV commercials. It’s paying for social media campaigns and mailers, including one with a doctored photo showing Phelan hugging the former U.S. Speaker of the House, and Democrat, Nancy Pelosi. Phelan said much of the money comes from a handful of very wealthy individuals supporting his opponent, David Covey, who has never run for state office before.

“Here we are in a runoff,” Phelan said, “because he has taken money from two West Texas billionaires, and now some guy from Pennsylvania, who I’ve never heard of until the last six weeks, who just came in and spent millions of dollars against me.”

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Covey’s Donors

Phelan didn’t name them, but he was talking specifically about two conservative oil executives from the Midland area, Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, along with Pennsylvania tech investor Jeff Yass. All three have been pouring millions of dollars into efforts to defeat politicians who have opposed school choice.

Yass is one of the largest contributors to the Club for Growth, a conservative 501 nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. The Club has spent nearly $1.8 million on advertising to defeat Phelan who’s been accused of blocking school vouchers. They also blame the House Speaker for giving away power to Democrats.

“Basically, we don’t feel you can call yourself a conservative if you oppose school freedom,” said David McIntosh, the president of the Club for Growth and a former Indiana congressman. “I think it’s an important symbolic victory if Mr. Covey wins, and the reason would be, it basically sends a signal to other Republicans: You don’t want to try to get power in this fashion.”

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This fashion, meaning by giving some House committee chairs to Democrats. It’s a traditional power-sharing arrangement in the Texas Legislature that’s fallen sharply out of favor with conservative Republicans. Many blame the process for preventing the passage of school choice, among other priorities.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission, since July of last year, oil executive Tim Dunn has donated just over $8.6 million to a pair of political action committees, Defend Texas Liberty and Texans United for a Conservative Majority, either directly or through an entity known as Hexagon Partners. Oil executive Farris Wilks donated about $2.8 million over the same period.

Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks provided virtually all the donations to Defend Texas Liberty and Texans United for a Conservative Majority over the current cycle. Those two PACs in turn donated $800,000 to David Covey’s campaign. Covey received another $700,000 directly in donations from a third Texas billionaire, insurance broker Alex Fairly of Amarillo. Neither Dunn, Wilks, nor Fairly responded to requests for interviews. For context, Covey’s campaign has raised just over $2.5 million since July of last year, and more than three out of every five dollars came from three men.

“Texas has no campaign finance limits whatsoever,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas. “So, if you’re a billionaire, and you want to throw millions of dollars into the political system to change who’s in office, you can do that.”

Gutierrez, who studies campaign finance, is convinced that the Phelan-Covey race could easily be the most expensive race for a State House district in Texas history, though he said no one will know for certain until the Texas Ethics Commission publishes the final campaign finance reports of the cycle in July.

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Asked about the potential influence of these three men, David Covey told Houston Public Media, “Dade Phelan has raised more money from out-of-state donors than the total amount of money I have raised. The amount of money Phelan received from outside of the district is greater than 5 times the amount of money I raised.”

Phelan’s Contributors

Covey’s claim isn’t without merit, and it speaks to an important point about the influence of money in a region like the Golden Triangle.

“Generally, money is probably the most important factor in any political campaign,” said political consultant Bill Miller, whose firm, Austin-based HillCo Partners, has donated to Phelan’s campaign. “I think there’s so much money that’s been raised, and is being raised, that money is irrelevant. And there’s very few races where you can say that. But this race — because it’s a small area, and there’s so much money — I don’t think that either side will want for money to do whatever it is that they believe will help them win the race.”

Campaign finance records show Phelan has raised more than $9.4 million this cycle. The largest individual donor to Phelan by far is Miriam Adelson, widow of Sheldon Adelson and owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Adelson’s company is one of the main forces pushing to legalize casino gambling in Texas.

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Adelson donated more than $13 million to a pair of political action committees, Texas Defense and Texas Sands. Those two PACS in turn donated more than $800,000 to Phelan. Adelson also donated another $100,000 to Phelan’s campaign directly. Altogether, she’s supplied 1 dollar out of every 10 Phelan has collected. More than half of that money came in the critical two months following Phelan’s second-place finish in the first round of primary voting.

Phelan’s next biggest contributor is the Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund. The fund’s parent body, the Associated Republicans of Texas, bills itself as a non-profit dedicated to maintaining a Republican majority in the Texas Legislature. The group has raised $7.5 million since last July. One of its biggest benefactors is Houston-based John L. Nau III, the chairman and CEO of Silver Eagle Beverages, one of the nation’s largest Anheuser-Busch distributors. Nau, who co-chairs the Associated Republicans’ board of directors, gave the organization $2.1 million over the past ten months.

Phelan has received just over $238,000 from the Associated Republicans of Texas Campaign Fund. That’s only 3% of the group’s total fundraising over the current cycle, but virtually all of it followed Phelan’s second-place finish to Covey in the first round of primary voting in March, making it a crucial lifeline.

What comes next?

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It’s far from normal to see so many millions of dollars in campaign donations flowing through this district. The last time Phelan fought a competitive race was his first legislative contest back in 2014. In that cycle, he raised just 2% of what he raised for this primary. So, I asked Phelan whether it’s time for tougher state campaign finance rules.

“It’s less of a finance issue than some of the campaign graphics and some of the images and some of the voiceovers that are obviously not realistic,” Phelan said. “They’re not accurate. And they’re obviously deep fakes. And AI, as it gets more and more refined, is very problematic in campaigns. We saw it in my campaign. We’re seeing it in other campaigns across the state of Texas. It’s a misdemeanor right now, and I don’t think that’s strong enough at all.”

Whether any such legislation comes to pass hangs on the outcome of this race: if Phelan loses, campaign finance limits will fall on whoever succeeds him as Speaker of the House.

Regarding the broader question of campaign finance regulation, Phelan is more philosophical, as someone who’s in the lead when it comes to fundraising can afford to be.

“It’s a First Amendment right to spend your money,” he said. “I get it. And I don’t know how the state of Texas will address that and still be under the constitutional standards that we expect from free speech.”

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Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee live score, updates highlights from College World Series Game 1

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Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee live score, updates highlights from College World Series Game 1


Texas A&M baseball is two games away — perhaps three — from achieving a historic first for the program.

With two victories over the No. 1 national seed Tennessee baseball team in the College World Series championship series, the No. 3 seed Aggies will have won the program’s first CWS title. But that is a prospect easier said than done, as Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle is likely aware.

Texas A&M is 1-4 all time vs. Tennessee under the Aggies coach, whose Vols counterpart, Tony Vitello, actually served as his recruiting coordinator at TCU from 2011-13. Schlossnagle’s only victory over Tennessee came in the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament, and the Vols defeated the Aggies 7-4 in the 2024 edition of the tournament.

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MORE: Watch Texas A&M vs. Tennessee in CWS with Fubo (free trial)

Moreover, Texas A&M is dealing with several injuries as it heads to the biggest stage afforded the sport, including likely top-10 draft pick Braden Montgomery. Jace LaViolette hurt his hamstring vs. No. 2 national seed Kentucky on Monday but returned and was able to play vs. Florida in the CWS semifinals on Wednesday.

If the Aggies are able to take the series vs. Tennessee, no one will be able to say it was unearned. With that, follow along for live scores, updates and highlights from Game 1 of the College World Series championship series:

Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee score

Teams 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Tennessee
Texas A&M

Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee live updates, highlights

This section will be updated closer to first pitch, scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Pregame

4:07 p.m.: Texas A&M fans have packed the Aggies’ hotel before they head out to the stadium. Here’s a look:

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2:40 p.m.: An interesting stat for Texas A&M: The Aggies had not made a national championship in football, baseball or basketball since 1939 until now.

2:16 p.m.: Another hype video, but Tennessee edition:

2:14 p.m.: Texas A&M released a hype video ahead of game one of the national championship series:

What channel is Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee on today?

Game 1 of the CWS championship series will air on ESPN. Karl Ravech (play-by-play), Kyle Peterson (color analyst), Chris Burke (color analyst) and Kris Budden (sideline reporter) will broadcast the game.

Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app (with a cable login), ESPN+ and Fubo, the last of which carries the ESPN family of network and offers a free trial.

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MORE: Buy College World Series tickets with StubHub

Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee start time

  • Date: Saturday June 22
  • Time: 6 p.m. CT

Game 1 of the College World Series between Texas A&M and Tennessee is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT from Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

Texas A&M baseball vs Tennessee betting odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Saturday at noon CT

  • Spread: Tennessee (-1.5)
  • Over/under: 11.5 runs
  • Moneyline: Tennessee (-185) | Texas A&M (+140)

Texas A&M baseball schedule 2024

Below is Texas A&M’s postseason schedule. For the Aggies’ full 2024 college baseball schedule, click here.

Bryan-College Station Regional

  • Friday, May 31: (3) Texas A&M 8, Grambling 0
  • Saturday, June 1: (3) Texas A&M 4, Texas 1 (11 innings)
  • Sunday, June 2: (3) Texas A&M 9, Louisiana 4

Bryan-College Station Super Regional

  • Saturday, June 8: (3) Texas A&M 10, Oregon 6
  • Sunday, June 9: (3) Texas A&M 15, Oregon 9

College World Series

  • Saturday, June 15: (3) Texas A&M 3, Florida 2
  • Monday, June 17: (3) Texas A&M 5, (2) Kentucky 1
  • Wednesday, June 19: (3) Texas A&M 6, Florida 0

CWS championship series

  • Saturday, June 22: (3) Texas A&M vs. (1) Tennessee
  • Sunday, June 23: (1) Tenessee vs. (3) Texas A&M
  • Monday, June 24*: (3) Texas A&M vs. (1) Tennessee

* If necessary

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

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College World Series 2024: How to watch Tennessee vs. Texas A&M game Saturday

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College World Series 2024: How to watch Tennessee vs. Texas A&M game Saturday


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The matchup for the Men’s College World Series championship finals is set.

No. 3 Texas A&M (52-13) will take on No. 1 Tennessee (58-12) in a three-game series this weekend to determine the national champion.

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The Volunteers advanced after they dispatched the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles Wednesday in a 7-2 victory. Tennessee raced out to a three-run first inning and coasted the rest of the way in what was a team effort that saw five different players record at least one RBI. The Aggies, meanwhile, dominated Florida in a four-hit, 6-0 shutout victory. Starting pitcher Justin Lamkin struck out nine and allowed just three hits in five innings of work.

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: NCAA baseball tournament field bracket, schedule

Here’s what you need to know about Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series championship finals:

What College World Series games are on Saturday?

The 2024 Men’s College World Series championship finals kick off Saturday in a game between No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 1 Tennessee:

  • No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. ET

How to watch College World Series game Saturday

Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series championship finals Saturday will be broadcast live on ESPN and streamed online on ESPN+.

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When are the Men’s College World Series championship finals games?

Here’s the full schedule of the Men’s College World Series:

  • June 22: MCWS Final Game 1, 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
  • June 23: MCWS Final Game 2, 2 p.m. ET | ABC
  • June 24: MCWS Final Game 3 (if necessary), 7 p.m. ET | ESPN



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“Texas wine is having a moment”: North Texas winemaker breaking new ground

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“Texas wine is having a moment”: North Texas winemaker breaking new ground


NORTH TEXAS — If you love wine, lean in. About an hour’s drive north of Dallas, a tree-lined, dirt and gravel road bends around a curve revealing a lush and lovely surprise, the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery. It’s 100 windswept acres along Lake Ray Roberts. 

“It’s more than I thought it would be initially,” says owner Fred Cummings, “but I now know it could be more than it is.” 

Dr. Fred Cummings Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery owner

CBS News Texas

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Dr. Cummings is the MD turned winemaker. He says he’s known since he was a child that he wanted to be a doctor, but it was his grandmother’s wisdom that planted something in his spirit about the soil. 

“She had a grapevine in her backyard and a fig tree,” recalls Cummings. “She says, `Fred’- I must’ve been about nine years old…just come back from Germany. And she picked up some dirt and said, ‘God didn’t make any more of this, so get some’.” And I said, Yes, ma’am.” 

And so he did, ultimately purchasing a former pig farm that became his family’s lakefront home. Then when the kids grew up and away, his wife Mary pushed him to do more with the property. So in 2010, he began to plant grapes. 

“The best grape that we grow on this property is actually grenache, but we grow grenache, tempranillo, and albarino,” explains Cummings. 

It took some years before he turned out a wine-worthy, award-winning harvest. Still, there was something else flourishing on those vines. Cummings says his proudest moment in his winemaking journey was, “my son coming to help me.” 

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Fred Cummings and son Christopher McIntosh
Fred Cummings and son Christopher McIntosh are winemakers at  the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery in North Texas.

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That would be his son Christopher McIntosh. He’s the vineyard’s winemaker. McIntosh admits that he needed some convincing, but now loves every moment. 

“It’s ours. We get to take it from fruit to glass- every bit of our work goes into each bottle. I get to share that process with- not only my father but the rest of my family. My wife works here, my daughter works here. My sister-in-law works here, my mother-in-law works here. So it really is a family operation which makes it even more special.” 

McIntosh says picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child, but just between us, the grenache has become the winery’s award-winning standout. 

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“I like to tell everybody we trick our vines into thinking they’re in the Mediterranean with all this lakefront property,” shares McIntosh with a laugh. “So yeah… that’s our favorite grape. We use it in three different wines. We make a rosé with it, we make a younger grenache, and then we make our estate grenache reserve.” 

Looking out on Lake Ray Roberts, the views are gorgeous, the tasting room polished and modern, the tasty tidbits and artisan cheeses just perfect for sampling. But the true test of a wine is in the sampling. And a tasting room full of visitors insist that  the Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery does not disappoint. 

“So it’s very hard work,” explains McIntosh. “But again, every bottle that’s turned out is a show of success. And the biggest show of that is when somebody tastes something and they just smile in awe of what what you put in a bottle for them.” 

Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery awards

CBS News Texas

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And while the wine is smooth and the hospitality wonderful, “We need a bigger place,” admits Cummings. “And we’ve had a few struggles trying to get that done.” 

Dr. Cummings can admit to navigating some bitter realities, Black winemakers are almost non-existent. According to Bloomberg, Black winemakers represent less than one percent of the industry. 

When asked if race has been a barrier in his winery’s growth, Cummings responded, “A little bit.” 

“It has been a little bit. And when you talk about that, I’m a guy that believes that I can do my best and it’s good enough for anyone to appreciate. And that’s how I approach my medical career. I approach wine the same way.” 

 And then a stray thought makes him pause and he adds with a wry smile, “Get more push back on the wine, than we have on treating people… so.” 

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When asked what advice he’d share with other minority entrepreneurs contemplating stepping into a space that perhaps the world suggests they do not belong, Cummings replies, “I’ve heard that so many times. I ignored it because I knew I was good enough. No one’s going to tell you that you’re good if you sit in the shadows. You’ve got to step out there.” 

And the Edge of the Lake Crew looks to make even more strides. They’ve got 15 acres planted now and hope to plant as many as 60 of the lake side acres with grape vines. They’re also looking for local support to help make the area a wine destination. 

Edge of the Lake Vineyard and Winery property

CBS News Texas


“You think that you can do this and have a little small thing,” shares Cummings, “but it grows just like the vines grow, the industry grows, and the business grows and you’ve got to be able to expand with it or you kind of get squashed.” 

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He admits to thinking about his grandmother often as he contemplates what he’s built and how much more he’d like to see it grow. “You know, she was a small one, but really had determination. And coming out of her upbringing and slavery, if you will. And she wanted her kids and her grandkids to do something, so she was always pushing us forward.” 

And Cummings believes the harvest for the entire industry can be grand. 

“Texas wine is having a moment and we need to really grab hold of that and take advantage of it now, not next week, not last, but now.” 

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