Wal-Mart heiress and Fort Worth resident Alice Walton is, according to Forbes, the wealthiest person in Texas and the richest woman in the world. Ms. Walton’s giving this cycle encompassed an interesting mix of candidates. Her $945,500 to Texas politics included four Democrat candidates, one moderate Republican in Texas House leadership, and several conservative challengers seeking to upset the current power structure of the Texas House. In addition, and not reflected in the numbers below, Ms. Walton made headlines this year for her mega donations to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Ms. Walton supported a variety of candidates this cycle, from both ends of the political spectrum. As an example, although she donated to Democrat candidates, she also contributed $10,000 to State Representative Matt Rinaldi, considered by many to be the most conservative member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Here’s an overview of Ms. Walton’s giving from the past election cycle:

Key takeaways from Ms. Walton’s giving:

1. Willing to challenge a sitting Speaker of the Texas House.
   Ms. Walton was the largest contributor to Jeff Judson’s campaign, the unsuccessful primary challenger to Texas House Speaker Joe Straus. Her contribution of $180,000 to the Judson campaign was her second largest political gift in Texas this cycle, behind only the quarter-of-a-million dollars she gave to Governor Greg Abbott. A gift this large to Speaker Straus’ challenger sends a clear message that Ms. Walton is not afraid to go against the grain to achieve her political goals.
2. Cleaning House?
   Sharing power in the Texas House with Speaker Straus is State Representative Byron Cook, Chair of the powerful House Committee on State Affairs. For years, State Rep. Cook has drawn the ire of conservative advocacy groups across the state, and this cycle he was challenged by conservative businessman Thomas McNutt. State Rep. Cook narrowly won re-election by 222 votes, a bad sign for someone considered to be one of the most powerful members in Austin. Ms. Walton’s $18,000 donation to Mr. McNutt, along with her donation to Mr. Straus’ challenger, suggests unhappiness with current Texas House leadership.
3. Focusing on Education.
   Every penny Ms. Walton gave to outside advocacy groups went to those seeking to impact education. It’s no secret Ms. Walton is a fan of expanding access to charter schools and giving parents and students more options. The two outside advocacy groups she supported, Leadership for Educational Equality – Texas and Charter Schools Now PAC, claim to support candidates and causes which promote more choices in education. These gifts, coupled with her willingness to go against the legislators most-directly responsible for preventing more choices in education, show how important this issue is to Ms. Walton.

Most interesting donation:

While Ms. Walton showed a willingness to support challengers to some of the most powerful members of the Texas House, one gift stands in stark contrast to this trend. Her collective giving of $30,000 to State Representative Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, one of Speaker Straus’ closest confidants, doesn’t fit with the rest of her giving. The logical reason behind this gift is the fact that Ms. Walton resides in State Rep. Geren’s district. There is likely a personal relationship there, and possibly family ties. Yet, for all the money she has poured into changing the status quo in Austin, particularly concerning education, her support of State Rep. Geren is quite the head-scratcher.

**Note: this article originally used donation information from 1/1/2015 – 6/30/2016, as that was the only available data at the time of publication. Since then, numbers throughout the article have been updated to reflect all giving from 1/1/2015 – 12/10/2016.

Our A Closer Look series provides a breakdown of a particular donor’s giving habits within Texas politics. We specifically analyze to whom money is given and when, thus providing context so citizens can determine the motivation behind the donor’s giving. Stay tuned for the next installment.