Saturday’s Red River Rivalry isn’t just a big deal to Longhorn or Sooner fans or the State Fair of Texas – it’s a big deal for Texas legislators.
More than 30 of them are hoping to cash in on the game by raising a lot of money.
The Texas Tribune reportsthat the annual football game between the University of Texas and Oklahoma University is becoming a fundraising hotspot for lawmakers in both parties.
Why?
They can rely on plenty of deep-pocketed donors to be in Dallas for game-day festivities.
While most of the legislators holding fundraisers represent districts in the Dallas area, recently more lawmakers from across the state, like state Reps. Ken King, R-Canadian, and Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, are going to Dallas hoping to score big financially at the Cotton Bowl. Deborah Ingersoll, an Austin lobbyist who has worked in Texas politics for more than 20 years, said the tradition of Texas politicians fundraising around the big game, once a mostly local affair, has grown tremendously. She organizes an annual guide of legislative fundraising surrounding the game and said this is the biggest year she has seen yet.
