Defend Texas Liberty PAC

Defend Texas Liberty PAC is the most feared political operation in Texas — a state-level super PAC funded by oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks that has reshaped Texas politics by primary-challenging any Republican who isn't sufficiently conservative. At $6 million in 2024 (with much larger spending in previous cycles), the PAC punches far above its weight because Texas's low-turnout primaries can be won with small spending and because the fear of a Dunn/Wilks-funded primary is itself a political weapon. Dunn and Wilks are both West Texas oil billionaires who share a Christian nationalist worldview. Dunn, CEO of CrownQuest Operating, and Wilks, who made his fortune in fracking services (Frac Tech), use their wealth to advance a political agenda that combines fossil fuel deregulation with socially conservative positions on education, gender issues, and religious liberty. Their funding network extends beyond DTL PAC to include Empower Texans, Texas Scorecard, and various other organizations that rate, endorse, and challenge Texas legislators. The PAC's most damaging scandal erupted when its leader, Jonathan Stickland, was photographed meeting with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at the PAC's office. The meeting, revealed by media reports, created a firestorm in Texas politics and led to calls for the PAC to be disbanded. Several Republican elected officials who had received DTL PAC funding distanced themselves, though most returned to the fold after the controversy subsided. Dunn and Wilks denounced the meeting but maintained their relationship with the PAC's operations. DTL PAC controls a significant bloc of the Texas legislature through fear of primary challenges. Texas's open primary system and low turnout mean that a well-funded insurgent can defeat an incumbent with relatively modest spending. The mere threat of a DTL-funded primary challenge is sufficient to move legislators rightward on oil and gas regulation, school vouchers, property taxes, and social issues. This fear-based influence means that two oil billionaires effectively shape legislation in the world's ninth-largest economy without holding office or submitting to democratic accountability.