Empower Texans was a right-of-center advocacy organization that was originally established as an anti-tax organization. Empower Texans went on to challenge Republican incumbents in party primaries, advocating for socially conservative positions. ¹

At its height, Empower Texans was associated with two political action committees, Empower Texans PAC and the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility PAC, now both inactive. It had a sister charitable nonprofit organization, Texas Scorecard (previously called the Empower Texans Foundation), ² which operated the state-level news outlet Texas Scorecard until it was spun off as an independent organization. ³

Empower Texans formerly did business under the name Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, ⁴ 2010 through 2020 according to tax filings. ⁵ The Texans for Fiscal Responsibility group operating as of 2024 appears to be an organization independent from Empower Texans, as they do not share any board members. ⁶

Background

Empower Texans was created to help Texans pursue economic and personal liberty through strong fiscal stewardship at all levels of government, promoting public policy that limited taxation and controlled the size of government. Empower Texans connected citizens with local and state officials, provided tools to assist with holding officials accountable, and endorsed candidates for office. ⁷

Empower Texans PAC

The Empower Texans PAC was a general-purpose political action committee that engaged in state-level races. ⁸ According to a 2018 article in Texas Monthly, the Empower Texans PAC was primarily funded by Tim Dunn and four other oil-industry families, who donated about 95% of the $11.4 million raised by the PAC between 2010 and 2018. The article also reported that the Empower Texans PAC spent $4.7 million to influence state elections in 2014, $2 million of which supported state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R). ⁹

Funding

Empower Texans was funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While Empower Texans does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Americans for Job Security ($40,000 in 2011),  ¹⁰ Americans for Tax Reform ($25,000 in 2014), ¹¹  and the Citizen Leader Alliance ($16,250 in 2011). ¹²

Board of Directors

Tim Dunn was the chair of the board of Empower Texans and the CEO of CrownQuest. Dunn is a cofounder of the Center for Effective Criminal Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the chair of the Christian advisory board of the Israel Allies Foundation. ¹³ Dunn chaired the board of Citizens News Guild and America First Works, and sits on the boards of Transparency Texas, the First Liberty Institute, the 1789 Alliance, the America First Policy Institute, the Lucy Burns Institute, Citizens for Self-Governance, and CSG Action. ¹⁴

Nathan Ofe is the secretary of Empower Texans, ¹⁵ the CEO of Texas Scorecard, and a former executive vice president at Sourcerock. ¹⁶

Luke Dunn is a son of Tim Dunn and the vice president of engineering and operations at CrownQuest. ¹⁷ Luke Dunn formerly sat on the board of Citizens News Guild. ¹⁸

1. “About.” Empower Texans. Archived from the original February 14, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20160214153102/http://www.empowertexans.com/about/
2. “About.” Empower Texans. Archived from the original February 14, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20160214153102/http://www.empowertexans.com/about/
3.  Citizens News Guild Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Line C.
4. “About.” Empower Texans. Archived from the original February 14, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20160214153102/http://www.empowertexans.com/about/.
5. Empower Texans, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2010-2020, Line C.
6. “Board of Directors.” Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.texastaxpayers.com/about/board-of-directors/.
7.  “About.” Empower Texans. Archived from the original February 14, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20160214153102/http://www.empowertexans.com/about/.
8. “About.” Empower Texans. Archived from the original February 14, 2016. Accessed March 6, 2024. http://web.archive.org/web/20160214153102/http://www.empowertexans.com/about/.
9. Ratcliffe, R.G. “The Power Issue: Tim Dunn Is Pushing the Republican Party Into the Arms of God.” Texas Monthly, December 2018. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/power-issue-tim-dunn-pushing-republican-party-arms-god/.
10. Americans for Job Security, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2011, Schedule I, Part II.
11. Americans for Tax Reform, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2014, Schedule I, Part II.
12. Citizen Leader Alliance, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2011, Schedule I, Part II.
13. “About Me.” Tim Dunn. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://timdunn.org/about-me-2/.
14. “Tim Dunn.” ProPublica. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/name_search?q=%22Tim+Dunn%22.
15. Empower Texans, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
16. “Natha Ofe.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-ofe-73670518/.
17. “Meet the Family.” Tim Dunn. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://timdunn.org/meet-the-family/.
18. Citizens News Guild Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.