Texas Candidate Gets Most of Her Donations in Semen

A candidate running for the Texas state legislature is garnering attention over her campaign donations—most of which consist of frozen deer semen, the Hill reports. Ana Lisa Garza has received $87,500 for her gutsy run against eight-term Democrat Ryan Guillen, $51,000 of which are listed as in-kind donations of deer semen straws. "Semen is a very common way for us to donate," says Texas deer breeder Fred Gonzalez. "One collection on a buck could lead to 60 straws sometimes. If you have a desirable animal, it’s a way to bring value without breaking the bank." The straws, or containers of ejaculate, are each valued at $1,000 by the Garza campaign.

Oddly, the campaign lists them as "in-kind" donations even though they were sold at auction and donated as cash, but Austin-based attorney Buck Wood doesn't see an issue. "The only time in-kind is important when you can’t estimate the value of the in-kind contribution," he says. Between 2006 and 2016 the Texas Deer Association's PAC has actually gotten more than $976,000 in donations of deer semen, and always made donations as money, not semen, the Dallas Morning News reports. So why give to Garza? Gonzalez says she gets deer breeders. "Some people don’t like deer breeders," he adds. "Some people don’t understand the benefit that we provide to Texas and small landowners." (More semen stories.)