An emerging Texas megadonor just pledged $20 million to “expand a true Republican majority”

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A Texas Panhandle businessman pledged $20 million to establish a new political group that aims to push the state Republican Party further to the right.

Alex Fairly is the single donor to the new Texas Republican Leadership Fund, the group announced Tuesday. Its formation comes amid a leadership fight in the Texas House, a proxy for the intra-party fight that has dominated Texas GOP politics for several years.

Fairly is an emerging conservative megadonor from Amarillo who has previously given tens of millions to West Texas A&M University to create an institute that promotes “Panhandle values.” He’s also made sizable donations to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Fairly is also the father to Caroline Fairly, who will take a seat in the House chamber this January.

The initial donation is a staggering amount even for Texas, which has no political spending limits for non-judicial candidates. For comparison, Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year recorded a $6 million donation from a national Republican donor, calling it the largest single donation to a candidate in state history.

Without naming state Rep. David Cook, Fairly suggested his group will back him for House speaker. Cook, of Mansfield, secured the nomination of the House GOP Caucus earlier this month. But Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock has said he had enough supporters among both Republicans and Democrats to win the speakership when the full chamber votes in January.

“Every Republican House member should be strongly opposed to a minority band of Republicans teaming up with Democrats to cut a joint governing agreement,” Fairly wrote in a statement, nodding to Burrows.

Fairly also said his new political group will build on the wins conservatives made in the 2024 election cycle to “expand a true Republican majority.”

Last year, Fairly donated more than $220,000 to Defend Texas Liberty, making him one of the biggest donors of the powerful political action committee after West Texas billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. Defend Texas Liberty mostly stopped its work after The Texas Tribune revealed its ties to prominent Adolf Hitler admirer Nick Fuentes and other known white supremacists.

Fairly had previously been involved in local Amarillo politics but has been ramping up his giving on a state level at a time when Dunn redirected his focus on national politics.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University and West Texas A&M University have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.