Texans give $3.5 million to McCain, $1.1 million to Obama in September

èßäÊÓƵapp political science Professor Cal Jillson talks about Texans having given more than $25 million to Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama to help fund their presidential bids.

By ANNA M. TINSLEY

FORT WORTH — Texans have given more than $25 million to Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama to help fund their presidential bids.

In the month after McCain chose as his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — the first female vice presidential candidate on his party’s ticket — he drew $3.5 million from Texans, new data shows.

During the same time, Obama received $1.1 million from Texans, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

"There was an outpouring of Texas money related to the Palin selection," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. "The problem Texans always had with McCain is he was seen as not sufficiently dependable on social issues, that he wasn’t a social conservative through and through.

"But when Texans found out Palin was a social conservative, they rallied to McCain and probably gave some additional money."

Overall, Texans have donated $52.4 million to all presidential candidates, including those no longer in the race, according to campaign finance data through September, which was released Monday.

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