As national Republican groups ramp up spending behind Ken Paxton’s bid for the U.S. Senate, Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) has remained on the sidelines of the general election campaign.
The organization’s absence has attracted renewed attention because of its long-running political disagreements with Paxton, including its decision to spend millions of dollars supporting his Republican primary opponent for attorney general in 2022.
The Daily Signal reported that TLR spent more than $3 million backing former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman against Paxton that year. Guzman ultimately lost the primary, allowing Paxton to secure another term as attorney general.
Millions in Donations to Democratic Candidates
TLR’s broader political giving has also become part of the debate over its role in Texas Republican politics.
According to The Daily Signal, the organization has contributed $6.3 million to 144 Democratic candidates, including U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett. It has also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic members of the Texas House.
At the same time, TLR continues to describe itself as a conservative organization focused primarily on lawsuit reform and maintaining a business-friendly legal environment in Texas.
Its own recent publications have continued to promote lawsuit reform as a way of reducing costs and strengthening the state’s economy.
The Group’s Break With Paxton Goes Back Years
The dispute between TLR and Paxton became particularly pronounced during the 2022 Republican primary.
The organization backed Guzman in an effort to replace Paxton as attorney general, a move that placed it firmly against the candidate who would eventually become the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2026.
Tensions continued during Paxton’s 2023 impeachment. Paxton’s supporters accused TLR of helping drive the effort to remove him from office, while TLR’s founders denied involvement in the impeachment campaign.
The Daily Signal reported that a message from then-TLR president Dick Trabulsi to Paxton deputy Jeff Mateer, who later became a whistleblower, was cited as evidence by those making the allegation. TLR also urged Texas senators not to acquit Paxton before his impeachment trial had begun, according to the report.
Trabulsi’s Political Background Also Draws Attention
Questions surrounding TLR have extended beyond its campaign spending to the political backgrounds of some of its former leaders.
Trabulsi, a TLR co-founder and former president, previously worked as a staffer for Democratic President Jimmy Carter. The Daily Signal also reported that he was still registered as a Democrat in 2024.
TLR’s financial records show that from 2005 through 2022, the organization was headquartered in a Houston property owned by an entity associated with Trabulsi. According to the reporting supplied, TLR paid more than $526,000 in rent to that entity during the period, while Trabulsi received more than $4.5 million in compensation.
Ethics Violations Led to Fines
TLR’s history has also included regulatory disputes.
In 2014 and 2015, the Texas Ethics Commission fined Trabulsi, the TLR political action committee and several employees and lobbyists over campaign-finance reporting violations. The violations included failures to disclose contributors’ full names.
Those enforcement actions have subsequently been cited by critics examining the organization’s political operations.
Current Leadership Has Its Own Political Record
TLR’s current president and general counsel, Lee Parsley, has also faced scrutiny over positions and political contributions that do not always align with the priorities of some Republican activists.
Parsley donated $1,250 to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. He also opposed a proposed 2011 amendment concerning the use of foreign religious law in Texas courts and testified against legislation in 2021 that would have allowed employees to sue over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The Texas Tribune previously reported on TLR’s broader political tensions as the organization faced growing challenges from the populist wing of the Texas Republican Party.
Board Members Have Supported Democrats and Moderate Positions
Political activity involving members of TLR’s leadership and board has further complicated the organization’s relationship with the increasingly conservative Texas Republican electorate.
Board members Marc Watts and Jeff Shellebarger signed a 2017 Greater Houston Partnership letter asking Gov. Greg Abbott not to sign the so-called bathroom bill. Watts later chaired the partnership’s COVID-19 task force and signed a message encouraging businesses to consider employee vaccination requirements.
Watts has also contributed to Democratic politician John Whitmire’s campaigns, while JJ Isbell donated to Whitmire and former state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. Fred Heldenfels IV has contributed to Democratic state Sen. Juan Hinojosa while also giving substantially to Abbott.
National Republicans Have Made the Senate Race a Priority
The controversy surrounding TLR comes as Republicans treat Texas as an important battleground in their effort to maintain control of the U.S. Senate.
Paxton won the Republican primary after defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and subsequently became the party’s nominee for the general election. National Republican organizations have invested heavily in the race, including spending by groups such as Senate Leadership Fund and MAGA Inc.
The Texas Tribune has also reported extensively on the changing donor landscape surrounding the Paxton-Cornyn contest and the broader struggle between traditional business-oriented Republicans and the party’s increasingly populist wing.
TLR Defends Its Conservative Policy Mission
Despite the political criticism, TLR continues to publicly frame its work around lawsuit reform rather than loyalty to individual Republican candidates.
The organization says its central objective is to reduce what it describes as lawsuit abuse and create a legal environment conducive to business growth. Its 2026 publications continue to make affordability and economic competitiveness central themes of that argument.
That focus helps explain why the organization has sometimes found itself aligned with business-oriented Republicans while clashing with other factions within the state’s Republican Party.
A Larger Fight Over the Direction of Texas Republicans
TLR’s position in the 2026 Senate race reflects a broader political realignment within Texas Republicans.
The Texas Tribune reported in August that traditional business-focused forces and the newer populist wing of the Republican Party have increasingly diverged over issues including tort reform, trial lawyers and the role of business interests in GOP politics.
Against that backdrop, TLR’s past opposition to Paxton, its campaign contributions to Democrats and its decision not to participate in the current general election have become points of contention.
For Paxton’s supporters, those actions reinforce longstanding accusations that TLR is no longer aligned with their version of Texas conservatism. For TLR, its public record continues to center on its stated mission of lawsuit reform and business-focused legal policy rather than support for any single political faction.
