T. Dan Friedkin is the owner and CEO of Gulf States Toyota, the largest private company in Houston. With exclusive rights to sell Toyota vehicles in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas, Mr. Friedkin has expanded upon the business originally built by his father. In 2016, according to Forbes, Mr. Friedkin ranked as the 162nd wealthiest person in the United States. In the most recent 2016 primary election cycle, Mr. Friedkin was the tenth largest donor to political campaigns and PACs in the state of Texas.

In his spare time, Mr. Friedkin flies World War II-era P-51 Mustangs with an aerial acrobatic troupe. Mr. Friedkin, 51, is married with 4 children.

Mr. Friedkin has been active in the Texas political scene dating back to the late 1990s, supporting candidates in both parties, although the vast majority of his contributions go to Republicans.

Here’s an overview of Mr. Friedkin’s giving from the past election cycle:

Key takeaways from Mr. Friedkin’s giving:

1. Close to those in power.
   Nearly all those receiving money from Mr. Friedkin were incumbents. Of those incumbents, most were either statewide officials, notably PACs for Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, or powerful members of the Texas Legislature. This trend is common among successful business executives, and often indicates a desire to have access to these elected officials.
2. Invests heavily in his company’s political action committee.
   Mr. Friedkin gave $150,000 to Gulf States Toyota Inc. State PAC, his company’s political action committee. That represents 17.29% of his political giving in Texas. It’s normal for large companies to have PACs which work to elect men and women friendly to a particular business or industry.
3. Supports the status-quo.
   Given his overwhelming support of those in power, it’s clear Mr. Friedkin likes the status quo in Austin. As the owner of auto dealerships, this support isn’t  surprising. Many argue auto dealers currently have a monopoly on the auto sales market with massive barriers to entry.

Most interesting donation:

At first glance, there appears to be an outlier in Mr. Friedkin’s giving this cycle: a $10,000 gift to a challenger in a State House race halfway across the state from Friedkin’s home district. That challenger was Scott Fisher who unsuccessfully sought to take the seat of State Representative Jonathan Stickland. State Rep. Stickland’s efforts in Austin have drawn the ire of many in the Capitol. Some believe State Rep. Stickland was a top target of House Speaker Joe Straus (another recipient of Mr. Friedkin’s money) and Speaker Straus’ leadership team. In actuality this gift wasn’t an outlier at all, rather, it was more support for the status quo.

**Note: this article originally used donation information from 1/1/2015 – 6/30/2016, as that was the only available data at the time of publication. Since then, numbers throughout the article have been updated to reflect all giving from 1/1/2015 – 12/10/2016.

Our A Closer Look series provides a breakdown of a particular donor’s giving habits within Texas politics. We specifically analyze to whom money is given and when, thus providing context so citizens can determine the motivation behind the donor’s giving. Stay tuned for the next installment.