Skip to main content

2010: Empower Texans Says "Nope" to Kleberg

Empower Texans, a group of conservative GOPers led by Michael Quinn Sullivan, posted an ad on YouTube yesterday attacking El Paso Republican primary candidate Jay Kleberg for his 2008 vote for President Barack Obama.

Republish
Empower Texans "Nope" Ad
Credit: Empower Texans

Empower Texans, a group of conservative GOPers led by Michael Quinn Sullivan, posted an ad on YouTube yesterday attacking El Paso Republican primary candidate Jay Kleberg for his 2008 vote for President Barack Obama.

The ad doesn't mention Kleberg's primary opponent, El Paso businessman Dee Margo, but Empower Texans has endorsed Margo in the race. This race is Margo's third try for a seat in the Legislature. He ran for the Senate in 2006 and lost to Democratic state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh. He ran for HD78 in 2008 and lost to Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody. This year, he and Kleberg are fighting for the GOP nomination and a chance to take Moody out in November and return the HD78 to Republican control.

A recent El Paso Times poll showed Margo with a sizeable lead over Kleberg, 50 percent to 30 percent. And, in campaign finance reports filed Monday of this week, Margo reported raising more than twice as much money as Kleberg. Kind of interesting that Empower Texans would launch an attack ad this late in the game with Margo so far up in the polls and with a sizeable war chest.

Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.

Wait! We need your help.

More than 2 million people read Texas Tribune articles every month, but only 12,000 of those readers also donate to support the news they count on. Not even 1% of readers! If you are one of the 99% of Texas Tribune readers who hasn’t made a donation before in support of independent Texas news, you can change that today. A small donation makes a big impact.

Our Spring Member Drive is an important time to help our newsroom plan for what resources will be available for them to tackle longer investigations and bigger projects later this year. Texas Tribune journalists need the support of readers to write the articles, take the photographs and create the data visualizations that impact Texans and Texas policy.

We have a goal to have 500 readers become Texas Tribune members during our Spring Member Drive. As the Tribune member community grows, the journalism you read here is better protected. Will you make a donation today to show your support of independent Texas news?

DONATE NOW

Information about the authors

Brandi Grissom’s staff photo

Learn about The Texas Tribune’s policies, including our partnership with The Trust Project to increase transparency in news.

Explore related story topics

2010 elections Joseph "Joe" Moody