- The Republican Party of Texas received $393,419.62 from American taxpayers in April as a result of a COVID-era bailout program
- The Texas GOP platform opposes government subsidies, bailouts, and corporate welfare
- The Party has otherwise struggled to raise funds
The Republican Party of Texas’ most recent campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that the Party received a large cash infusion from an unusual source – American taxpayers.
The filing, which covers the month of April 2025, shows that the Republican Party of Texas received $393,419.62 from the United States Department of the Treasury on April 10, 2025, for “employee retention credits.”
The Employee Retention Credit program was a federal COVID-era bailout program that encouraged eligible employers who were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to retain employees on their payroll by offering government handouts in the form of payroll tax credits.
After a review of the Federal Election Commission campaign finance database, The Texas Voice was unable to find any other political party organization that reported receiving similar payments from the United States Department of the Treasury.
The Republican Party of Texas has traditionally taken a dim view of government handouts and subsidies. One of the Party’s ten core principles, as outlined in its platform, is a “free enterprise society unencumbered by government interference or subsidies.” Additionally, in a platform plank entitled “No Corporate Welfare,” the Party states its opposition to “all bailouts of and subsidies to domestic and foreign government entities, states, and for all businesses, public and private.”
Under the rules of the Republican Party of Texas, violations of the Party’s core principles are grounds for censure.
The taxpayer funds received by the Texas GOP in April represented the vast majority of the Party’s revenue during that month. On its campaign finance report, the Party reported receiving just $113,781.48 in contributions in April. On the same report, the Party reported $211,761.07 in operating expenditures for the month. Of those expenditures, more than $75,000 appears to have gone to fundraising expenses. Thanks to the taxpayer subsidy, the Party’s federal account showed $798,484.94 on hand as of the end of April.
In addition to the Party’s federal account, which is the only account that can be used to help Republicans in federal elections, the Party also maintains a state account. While contributions to the federal account are capped under federal law, there are no contribution limits for the Party’s state account. The Texas GOP’s most recent state campaign finance report reflected $131,610.90 on hand in the state account as of May 28, 2025, even though there are no limits on how much a donor can contribute to that account.
