Few Texas Republicans have accepted president elect Joe Biden's victory.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is willing to put his money where his mouth is. He says he will pay up to a million dollars from his campaign war chest for information that leads to voter fraud arrests and convictions.
SMU political scientist Cal Jillson says with close to 150 million votes cast, there were bound to be some errors. "There may even be some nefarious activity, but the idea there was enough of that to bring president Trump back from a four to five million vote deficit is fantasy."
Jillson believes Patrick's offer is his way of showing loyalty to the president. "People who want to remain close to president Trump are trying to demonstrate how committed they are to his charges that voter fraud was rampant in the election, and that's the reason that he lost."
Jillson says President Trump has already started a leadership PAC to collect money to use in future elections and will likely start some sort of communications network. "People who want to be part of the Trump future are stepping forward and Lt. Governor Patrick is one of those. This doesn't have a lot to do with the election. It has a lot of do with staying in Donald Trump's good graces."
In a press release, Patrick says anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.
A former chief Texas ethics regulator suggested that paying reward money could run afoul of federal campaign finance laws.