| The Houston Chronicle's Texas on the Potomac blog has used Change.gov to come up with a list of 88 Texans who have contributed to Barack Obama's inaugural committee. Only three Texans have given $5000, the maximum contribution set by Obama's team. One of the $5000 contributors is Mikal Watts, the trial lawyer and major Democratic donor who explored running for the U.S. Senate last year. Melanie Barnes, wife of former Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes who now runs one of Washington's most successful lobbying firms, the Ben Barnes Group, also gave $5000. The final Texan who contributed $5000 is Bill Perkins, the Houston venture capitalist who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaign. Perkins got some publicity in September when he bought full page ads in the New York Times criticizing the bailout plan. The entire list of the 88 contributors, as of December 1, can be browsed on Texas on the Potomac. |
