# Forge the Future Project with Meta: Texas Expenditure Analysis **Research Date:** 2026-03-14 **Data Sources:** Texas Ethics Commission, The Texan, Texas Scorecard, Teddy Schleifer (X), Transparency USA, DNYUZ/NYT --- ## 1. PAC Identity - **Official name:** Forge the Future Project with Meta - **Texas Ethics Commission ID:** 00090684 - **Type:** Texas GPAC (General Purpose Political Action Committee) - **Controlling entity:** Meta (listed in PAC name) - **Registration:** Fremont, CA, January 2026 - **Consultant:** FP1 Strategies (Virginia-based political consulting firm) - **Political alignment:** Republican - **Parent entity:** ATEP (American Technology Excellence Project, $45M from Meta) Meta is listed as the controlling entity directly in the PAC's official name. This is unusually transparent for a super PAC and contrasts with the opacity of DCA's funding structure. --- ## 2. Funding - **Total receipts (February 2026):** $1,365,000 - **Source:** Meta (contribution dated February 12, 2026) - **Filing:** 8-day pre-election report, due February 23, 2026 --- ## 3. Total Expenditures: $1.36 Million Nearly all spending flowed through FP1 Strategies, funding digital advertising, mail programs, and phone/voter outreach. ### Statewide Race | Candidate | Race | Amount | Result | |-----------|------|--------|--------| | **Kelly Hancock** (R) | Comptroller | ~$495,000 | **Lost** (24%, Don Huffines won 57%) | Hancock was the largest single investment at roughly 40% of total spending. He lost badly. ### Texas Senate (~$520,000 combined) | Candidate | District | Amount | Result | |-----------|----------|--------|--------| | **Trent Ashby** (R-Lufkin) | SD-3 | ~$194,000 | **Won** (62%) | | **David Cook** (R-Mansfield) | SD-22 | ~$174,000 | **Won** (67%) | | **Brett Ligon** | SD-4 | ~$152,000 | **Won** (75%) | All three Senate candidates won their primaries. ### Texas House (~$345,000 combined) | Candidate | Amount | Result | |-----------|--------|--------| | Cole Hefner | ~$38,000 | Won | | Cody Harris | ~$38,000 | Won | | Morgan Meyer | ~$29,000 | Won | | Helen Kerwin | ~$27,000-$30,000 | Won | | Pat Curry | ~$27,000-$30,000 | Won | | Caroline Harris Davila | ~$23,000 | Won | | Lacey Hull | ~$21,000 | Won | | Janie Lopez | <$9,000 | Won | ### Overall Record: 11 wins, 1 loss (91.7%) The one loss (Hancock) consumed the largest share of spending. All legislative candidates won. --- ## 4. Angela Paxton and Caroline Fairly **No direct financial link found.** Neither Angela Paxton (SD-8, author of SB-2420, the Texas ASAA) nor Caroline Fairly (House sponsor of SB-2420) appears among the recipients of Forge the Future expenditures. However, the policy alignment is clear: - Forge the Future's Policy Priority #2: "Empowering parents with oversight of children's online activities across devices and digital environments" - Meta bankrolled lobbying for ASAA directly (13 lobbyists in Texas per ACT | The App Association) - Meta funds the Digital Childhood Alliance, which supported passage of SB-2420 - Meta's southeast lobbyist Theresa Garcia Robertson actively testified in support of ASAA-type bills Meta did not need to fund Paxton through the super PAC because it was already lobbying her directly through 13 registered lobbyists in Texas. The PAC funded candidates who would be friendly to Meta's broader legislative agenda (AI regulation, tech policy), not necessarily the specific ASAA sponsors who were already on board. --- ## 5. Strategic Analysis ### Why Hancock? Kelly Hancock was a sitting state senator running for Comptroller. Meta invested ~$495K in his race and he lost to Don Huffines by 33 points. This suggests either poor candidate vetting by FP1 Strategies or that Meta's endorsement was a net negative in a Texas Republican primary where anti-establishment sentiment ran high. ### Why These Three Senators? Ashby (SD-3), Cook (SD-22), and Ligon (SD-4) were all open-seat or competitive races where Meta could install "tech-friendly" legislators for the full term. None were existing ASAA sponsors. These are positioning investments for future legislative fights, not ASAA-specific spending. ### Meta's Dual-Track Texas Strategy 1. **Direct lobbying** (13 lobbyists) handled the ASAA bill (SB-2420) and its sponsors directly 2. **Super PAC spending** ($1.36M via Forge the Future) built a broader bench of friendly legislators for future AI and tech policy fights The two tracks serve different purposes and target different people. --- ## 6. Meta's Three Texas Interests Per reporting, Meta's Texas investments serve overlapping objectives: 1. **AI data centers:** Meta has three AI data center projects in Texas, making favorable regulation critical 2. **ASAA/SB-2420:** Shifts age verification liability to app stores, potentially shielding Meta from FTC enforcement 3. **State-level AI regulation:** Texas legislators introduced numerous AI-related bills; Meta wants friendly lawmakers --- ## 7. FEC vs. State Filing Forge the Future does not appear in FEC filings. It is registered exclusively as a Texas state-level GPAC with the Texas Ethics Commission. ATEP (the parent entity) is structured as a multi-state nonfederal PAC, not a federal committee. This confirms the deliberate strategy of state-level registration to avoid centralized federal disclosure. --- ## Sources - The Texan: https://thetexan.news/elections/2026/super-pac-owned-by-facebook-parent-company-meta-spends-big-in-texas-primaries/article_fe81d073-e085-449d-ae0b-278f86fcbcb9.html - Texas Scorecard: https://texasscorecard.com/state/meta-backed-pac-pumps-over-1-2-million-into-texas-republican-primaries/ - Teddy Schleifer (X): https://x.com/teddyschleifer/status/2026076832085508362 - DNYUZ/NYT: https://dnyuz.com/2026/02/18/meta-begins-65-million-election-push-to-advance-a-i-agenda/ - Transparency USA: https://www.transparencyusa.org/tx/committee/forge-the-future-project-with-meta-00090684-gpac/contributors - Texas Ethics Commission: https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/search/cf/SuperPac.html - ACT | The App Association: https://actonline.org/2025/05/23/into-the-metaverse-the-money-and-motivations-behind-metas-app-store-gambit/ - Common Dreams: https://www.commondreams.org/news/meta-super-pacs-ai - The Decoder: https://the-decoder.com/meta-pours-65-million-into-state-elections-to-back-ai-friendly-politicians/ - Forge the Future: https://texasforgefuturepac.com/ - Axios (AI influence power players): https://www.axios.com/2026/02/27/ai-influence-power-players - Texas Tribune (Huffines wins comptroller): https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/03/don-huffines-christi-craddick-kelly-hancock-texas-gop-primary-comptroller/ - DCA (Big Tech Moves to Block Texas Parents): https://www.digitalchildhoodalliance.org/big-tech-moves-to-block-texas-parents-from-protecting-their-children-online-with-lawsuit-against-asaa/