A Texas natural gas magnate last month gave $1 million to American Crossroads, a new 527 group conceived by Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie to boost Republicans headed into the 2010 midterm elections.
The contribution, from Trevor Rees-Jones, president of Chief Oil and Gas, a privately held energy company in Dallas, was the only significant contribution made in April to the new group, according to a report it filed Thursday with the Internal Revenue Service.
Rees-Jones, who built a billion-dollar oil and gas fortune after leaving a career as a bankruptcy lawyer in 1984, in recent years has emerged as a big Republican donor. In 2008, he gave $10,000 to the Texas GOP and $28,500 to the committee set up by the national GOP and John McCain’s presidential campaign, after initially contributing to McCain rival Mitt Romney. His foundation, meanwhile, has contributed $2 million to Texas Christian University and $10 million to Dartmouth, his alma mater.
Full story: New GOP group gets $1 million contribution – Kenneth P. Vogel – POLITICO.com