US oil and gas industry is booming. So are its donations to GOP allies
Not Donald Trump. Not Ted Cruz. But a little known Republican from West Texas ranks as the top recipient of fossil fuel money.
By Marcus Baram, Capital and Main
August Pfluger, an Air Force veteran and member of the U.S. House representing a small district in West Texas, isn’t exactly a household name on the national political scene, with little press coverage in the last two months outside a recent Fox News appearance.
But he is the country’s top recipient of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry—out of all federal candidates, including President Biden, Donald Trump, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz—receiving $573,721 during the current 2024 election cycle, according to campaign finance data compiled by Open Secrets. Pfluger is running for reelection, though it’s not a competitive race in the strongly Republican district, which includes part of the Permian basin, the largest oil-producing region in the country.