Texas
Money from outside House District 21, and Texas, dominates fundraising in Phelan-Covey race | Houston Public Media
Dade Phelan Facebook, Dave Covey Facebook
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.”
Andrew Schneider
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.”
“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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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?
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.”
A man in Texas, suspicious about his newly acquired truck, decided to take a look inside. To his surprise, he found a GPS tracker that was monitoring his every move. As expected, people online reacted as they normally do: a collective meltdown.
The man in question is none other than David Allen, also known as ToTouchAnEmu. He is a very popular content creator who has over 9.8 million followers on TikTok alone.
And while he shares a wide variety of content, one of his latest videos addresses this apparent breach of privacy. He detailed how he was surprised and overwhelmed as he went through the terms and conditions after purchasing his new truck.
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His dealer had signed him up and paid for a one-year subscription to CarRx, a platform and mobile app that monitors vehicles’ data. David, however, was not too thrilled to find out exactly what that meant.
Tracking Everything
For starters, he showed that, under the terms and conditions, CarRx would sell all collected information to third parties. David was not too worried about that.
Instead, he showed all the data that the platform collects from vehicles. Understandably, he was shocked.
Monitored information includes the car’s VIN, mileage, oil and battery status, fuel, and charging history. The platform can also track a vehicle’s location, speed, crash detection alerts, braking events, and even camera image and sensor data.
Finding the Tracker
David, still astounded by the revelation, knew that something was fishy. He asked, “I start thinking, how do they know all that information about my car if they don’t have some sort of GPS tracker on it?”
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And to no one’s surprise, and thanks to a Google search, it turns out that there was, in fact, a tracker installed in David’s truck. And not willing to let it slide, the man got to work immediately.
The Texas man searched for the tracker near the OBD port. He noticed a Y-cable right below it and found the tracker connected to it. The tracker had an IMEI, meaning that it had a SIM card in it, so tracking is pretty much a guarantee.
Viewers React Accordingly
Of course, David’s video caused a multitude of reactions. Some took issue with how he labeled his SUV a truck, but most viewers were worried about their privacy.
“We need data privacy laws stat!” one said. Another one commented, “This isn’t new, unfortunately. I used to work for GM; they track everything. In real time.”
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The latter comment seemed to echo the majority of reactions. Other users, former car dealership employees themselves, said the exact same thing.
If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.
Texas
Texas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings
Trinidad officials mum on Texas Rangers’ investigation
The Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad following controversial arrests and public water issues, but city officials still have yet to comment to FOX 4 about the investigation. FOX 4’s David Sentendrey has more.
TRINIDAD, Texas – After controversial arrests, alleged retaliatory firings and a litany of water issues, the Texas Rangers are investigating the City of Trinidad.
What we know:
The Texas Rangers confirmed to FOX 4 they have begun an investigation into the City of Trinidad.
“We can confirm the Texas Rangers are investigating. As this is an active investigation, we have no further information to provide,” the Texas Rangers said to FOX 4 in a statement.
Dig deeper:
The law enforcement agency’s investigation comes as multiple lawsuits have been filed against the city over retaliatory firings and controversial arrests related to the city’s water quality issues.
This week, former Trinidad City Administrator and Secretary Lindsey Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming she had “no record of discipline” when she was terminated in Feb. 2026.
Patterson’s suit claims she was fired after reporting to the Trinidad Police Department that “public funds belonging to the city were being held by private individuals.”
Former Trinidad City Administrator Lindsey Patterson
Trinidad’s current City Administrator, Cynthia Dosier, has been listed as a defendant in several of the lawsuits. She has not returned FOX 4’s request for comment since our first report.
On Friday, FOX 4’s David Sentendrey attempted to speak to Dosier at her office in Trinidad. Dosier had no comment when asked about the Texas Rangers’ investigation.
“It’s way bigger than just water”
What they’re saying:
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws previously called for an investigation by the Texas Rangers into the city’s now-public issues. He tells Sentendrey he’s glad that’s finally happening.
“I wanted people here to know that there is going to be transparency at the end of this,” Haws said.
“We need to know that our office is in order and I think the best way to do that is with a third party having eyes on it and finding out what really is going on here.”
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws
The investigation wouldn’t have come without Henderson County resident Jennifer Combs’ arrest for a Facebook post concerning the city’s water quality.
“To tell the story to someone they would think you were crazy. You know what I mean?”
She says she’s glad the Texas Rangers are investigating, but that the root of the issue remains: the city’s water issues.
“I’m just ready for all of it to calm down and what’s going to happen is gonna happen, and the rest needs to be done so we can get back to the real issues of fixing the water. People deserve clean water.”
Trinidad Water Saga
Timeline:
The saga in Trinidad, which claims less than 800 residents, began in May following Combs’ arrest over the city’s water issues.
Combs’ post stated that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city’s water. FOX 4 has not verified that anyone in Trinidad was hospitalized from drinking the city’s water.
A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in “an act of deliberate political retaliation.”
Since our initial report, FOX 4 has continued to receive images of dirty and discolored water from the residents of Trinidad.
Trinidad officials have admitted the city has struggled to keep its water clean. Combs said the water “looks like the Trinity River.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) confirmed to FOX 4 it received a complaint regarding the water quality in Trinidad, and that an investigation is ongoing.
Woman arrested after Facebook post over water concerns
A woman in Henderson County was arrested earlier this month after she made a Facebook post about concerning water issues in the small town of Trinidad. FOX 4’s David Sentendrey sat down with the woman to hear her side of the story.
One day after FOX 4’s initial report on Combs, citizen journalist Winston Noles protested outside Trinidad City Hall with a sign with expletives targeting “bad cops.”
Noles was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign. The Trinidad Municipal Judge, Shellena Bivens, later dismissed the charge.
On Wednesday, May 27, Alex Estrada and Colby Reyes, two former Trinidad employees, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the city administrator fired them without cause.
Reyes, the former Trinidad Water Clerk, says in the lawsuit that she was fired because she “refused to lie” on behalf of Gregory and City Administrator Dosier.
Reyes’ lawsuit claims Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by Noles in order to arrest him, in which Reyes says she put in writing she was “never offended” by Noles.
A law firm representing Estrada and Reyes and Consumer Wellness Center Labs are organizing free independent water testing for people on Trinidad’s water supply as the TCEQ investigation continues.
At a May 28 Trinidad City Council meeting, Judge Bivens was fired as the city’s municipal judge. The issue of water quality in Trinidad was never addressed.
Gregory, who made his first public comments since FOX 4 initially reported on the story, said he had “nothing to hide” in relation to Combs and Noles’ arrests.
Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws suggested to Sentendrey that the Texas Rangers should investigate the city and its police department after the recent arrests and water issues have come to light.
Bivens is considering legal action against Trinidad, with her attorney saying her firing was unjust. “I’m a good judge. I’m a damn good judge,” Bivens told Sentendrey.
In June, a family in Trinidad alleged that after showering with the city’s water, their teenage daughter suffered a chemical burn.
An attorney for the family provided a preliminary water test strip result that showed “dangerous” free chlorine levels in the Logan family’s water. It remains unclear if Trinidad’s recent water treatment led to the Logans’ daughter’s rash.
A planned meeting for Thursday, June 4 to give an update on the city’s attempts to fix their water quality issues was canceled. Mayor Haws said he did not receive a reason for the cancellation, though a small protest took place outside the planned meeting.
Gregory resigned from his position as Trinidad Police Chief following the multiple controversies. His final day with the department was June 19.
Gregory has declined interview requests from FOX 4, citing pending lawsuits.
Following news of Gregory’s resignation, the Trinidad judge who approved the arrest warrant for Combs wrote a scathing letter against him and his police department.
McKee’s letter questions “the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information presented” to him by two Trinidad police officers in relation to Combs’ arrest warrant.
What’s next:
Interim Trinidad Police Chief Cameron Beckham told Sentendrey over the phone he has a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the next few weeks and plans to fully cooperate with their investigation.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Texas Rangers, the City of Trinidad and previous FOX 4 reporting.
An investigation is underway after the Lewisville Police Department said a fetus was found deceased along the Lewisville Lake shoreline Friday morning.
Police said a resident called them to report the discovery around 8 a.m. near Lake Park Road. Officers then began searching for evidence alongside investigators from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office. The scene has since been cleared.
The department said the fetus appeared to have been between five and six months of gestation and appeared to have been intentionally discarded along the shoreline. The medical examiner’s office is now working to determine identity and other characteristics.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Detective Craig Holleman by emailing cholleman@cityoflewisville.com or by calling 972-219-3620. Anonymous tips can also be shared with the Denton County Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1-800-388-TIPS.
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