As the Austin Democrat campaigns against big money in politics, he is being supported by a super PAC bankrolled by several billionaires, as well as nonprofits that do not have to disclose their funders.
James Talarico, the Austin state lawmaker and Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, is running on a premise that the true conflict in politics is not left versus right, but a “top versus bottom” struggle between the ultrawealthy and everyday Texans.
At the heart of this message is Talarico’s avowed support for curbing the political influence of billionaire donors. He has sworn off corporate PAC donations, proposed measures to crack down on “billionaire tax loopholes” to ensure they “pay their fair share,” and advocated for outlawing super PACs.
But the cast of contributors bankrolling Lone Star Rising PAC, a super PAC in his corner, features several billionaires, many of whom are prolific Democratic donors, and dark money nonprofit groups that do not have to disclose their funders.
While donors are capped at giving $3,500 per election to individual candidates, no such contribution limits exist for super PACs, which can spend unlimited funds supporting or opposing candidates, including through advertising, voter mobilization efforts and polling, as long as they don’t coordinate with a candidate’s campaign.
Lone Star Rising raised just under $9 million from its inception in September through the end of March, and spent almost all of it on ads supporting Talarico and attacking U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, his primary foe. The group’s treasurer is Alexander Clark, who overlapped with Talarico when both taught in public schools in San Antonio through Teach for America.
Super PACs like Lone Star Rising have been key players in Texas’ Senate race — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and his Republican primary runoff opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, both have such groups supporting them, as did Crockett. At the same time, dark money has surged in federal races, with Cornyn in particular benefiting from tens of millions in ad spending from a constellation of super PACs and nonprofit groups.
Both issues are thornier for Democrats, some of whom, like Talarico, have made getting big money out of politics central to their platforms. Ahead of the March primary, Crockett called him “a man that seemingly doesn’t practice what he preaches,” saying he had “welcomed and embraced these billionaires and their dark money support.”
Talarico’s campaign argues that 97% of contributions to his campaign account — which has raised over $40 million since he launched his campaign last fall — have come from small-dollar donors.
“The only way to stop super PACs like these is to vote out politicians like John Cornyn and Ken Paxton who want corporations and billionaires to decide our elections, not Texans,” Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said in a statement.
When previously asked about the support he receives from billionaire donors and super PACs, Talarico has said he will not “unilaterally disarm while Republicans play by their own rules,” and that he welcomes billionaire supporters who believe they should be taxed more and see their political influence limited.
Stephen Mandel
Amount donated to LSR: $500,000
Mandel is a Connecticut billionaire hedge fund manager and major Democratic donor. He sits on the board of directors for Teach for America — through which Talarico taught middle school in San Antonio for two years — and is a supporter of charter schools. Mandel previously sat on the board of trustees of the Environmental Defense Fund. He established the Zoom Foundation in 2001, a nonprofit that funds environmental, education and democracy-based causes.
Mark Jacobsen
Amount donated to LSR: $100,000
Jacobsen is the Maryland-based cofounder and CEO of the financial services firm IntraFi. He previously served as the chief of staff at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He has contributed to a number of Democrats running for Congress.
Mark Heising
Amount donated to LSR: $100,000
Heising is the founder of Medley Partners, a San Francisco-based private investment firm. A major Democratic donor, Heising holds six U.S. patents in cryptography, compression and data communications.
Heising serves as chair of the Environmental Defense Fund and as a board member of the Heising-Simons Foundation, which works to “advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of our youngest learners, and support human rights for all people,” according to its website.
Heising and his wife, Liz Simons, pledged to commit most of their wealth to philanthropy in 2016. According to their pledge letter, Heising worked as a chip designer before entering finance.
David Gochman
Amount donated to LSR: $100,000
Gochman is the president and founder of Inclenberg Investments, a private investment firm focused on real estate with offices in Florida and Texas. Gochman previously led Academy Sports & Outdoors, a sporting goods company his grandfather founded in San Antonio in 1938. Based in Florida, he has contributed to numerous Democratic campaigns, groups and state parties in recent election cycles.
Philanthropists/Democratic donors
Lisa Primus
Amount donated to LSR: $500,000
Primus is a New York physician, philanthropist and active Democratic donor who has given $7.7 million largely to Democratic groups and candidates over the years. She funds the Livelihood Impact Fund, which “invests funding and expertise into data driven early stage organizations that strive to meaningfully and durably improve the lives of the global poor,” and served on the boards of the Center for Voter Information, the League of Conservation Voters and the Pipeline Initiative, which recruits and supports progressive political candidates.
Simone Coxe
Amount donated to LSR: $500,000
Coxe is an Austin philanthropist married to Tench Coxe, a billionaire venture capitalist and longtime board member of Nvidia. Simone Coxe cofounded a public relations firm for the tech industry, and she was the cofounder of CalMatters, a nonprofit news site covering California politics and policy. The couple donated $100 million to the University of Texas at Austin’s academic medical center this year. They are part owners of Austin FC.
Don Henley
Amount donated to LSR: $150,000
Henley is a Grammy award-winning musician and founding member of The Eagles, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He is an East Texas native who has supported numerous Democratic groups and candidates this cycle. Henley founded the Walden Woods Project in 1990, which “preserves the land, literature and legacy of Henry David Thoreau to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility,” and the Caddo Lake Institute in East Texas, which focuses on protecting the wetlands area that straddles the Texas-Louisiana border.
Susan Sarofim
Amount donated to LSR: $100,000
Sarofim is a Houston businesswoman, philanthropist and widow of billionaire investment manager Fayez Sarofim. She founded a temp agency in 1989, owns New Orleans Auction Galleries, and cofounded To Educate All Children, a nonprofit that offers class management programming to Houston and Aldine Independent School District educators.
William H. Harris
Amount donated to LSR: $100,000
Harris is an orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Harris Orthopedic Lab. He is a regular donor to Democratic-aligned groups and candidates.
Source: Kayla Guo,
Photo Credit: State Rep. James Talarico greets supporters at his election night watch party in Austin on March 3, 2026. Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune
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