Bob Perry bankrolls Republican in New Mexico
Houston homebuilder Bob Perry has his favorite in the Texas governor's race - incumbent Rick Perry (no relation). The Republican governor has been a long-time recipient of campaign cash, and has reciprocated by creating a state agency that protected builders from consumer complaints (now disbanded after a storm of protest). Perhaps the nation's most prolific campaign giver, Bob Perry is putting big money behind a candidate for governor in New Mexico.

Bob Perry bankrolls Republican in New Mexico
by Wayne Slater/Reporter
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Houston homebuilder Bob Perry has his favorite in the Texas governor's race - incumbent Rick Perry (no relation). The Republican governor has been a long-time recipient of campaign cash, and has reciprocated by creating a state agency that protected builders from consumer complaints (now disbanded after a storm of protest). Perhaps the nation's most prolific campaign giver, Bob Perry is putting big money behind a candidate for governor in New Mexico . Perry and his wife have contributed $450,000 to Republican Susana Martinez. That's about two thirds of her total campaign haul over the pasts three weeks as she heads into today's primary runoff.

The very fine Chris Cillizza at the Washington Post reports that Martinez has benefited from get-tough ads on immigration and the endorsement of tea-party favorite Sarah Palin. Perry's largesse in New Mexico is part of the homebuilder's big-dollar political giving - including $2.5 million to the Republican Governor's Association. Back in Texas, the homebuilder is an advocate of having the government limit lawsuits against business, including his own. At the same time, he's refused to pay court judgments against him. A jury in Fort Worth ordered him to pay $58 million to a retirement-age couple for refusing for a decade of fix their defective home. Perry's lawyers are appealing, and the case could continue for years.