After more than 20 years in the Texas Legislature, State Sen. John Carona (R-Dallas) is in the fight of his political life against real estate developer Don Huffines in the March Republican primary.
According to an analysis conducted of 978 Senate votes in 2013 by the chairman of Rice University’s political science department, Carona was ranked the most liberal Senate Republican.
Carona has also become a fundraiser for his Democratic colleagues. Several media accounts have noted that Carona hosted fundraisers in his Dallas home for State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) and Royce West (D-Houston). Carona also employed Zaffirini as a “communications consultant” through his neighborhood association management company, Associa.
Senators West and Zaffirini are among the most liberal Democrats in the Senate by most measures, including that same Rice study.
According to Ross Kecseg of Empower Texans, the fundraisers were for senators in “safe” Democratic districts unlikely to be seriously challenged by a Republican.