Revealed: GOP Group Behind Mysterious Trans Student Messages

Following an order from a Travis County judge, the Republican Women’s Caucus (RWC) Fund and a man named John Braun have been identified as the names behind controversial text messages sent to Texans earlier this month purporting to offer resources to transgender students, confirming widespread speculation that the effort was a Republican political ploy. Some three million mailers containing similar information were also sent.

The revelation, first reported here, comes in the final days of a tight Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, whose former impeachment lawyer, Chris Hilton, appeared in court on behalf of the Texas Transgender Student Union (TTSU), a Wyoming-based LLC that was anonymously registered in September and was reportedly behind the mailers that directed readers to the website of the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), a real LGBTQ+ advocacy group that swiftly denied sending the messages or mailers. TTSU said in a court filing that the entity “is not going to engage in any further text or mail communications.”

On Tuesday, Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer ordered from the bench oral deposition of a representative of TTSU and denied the organization’s motion to dismiss. Soifer also ordered Infobip, a mass text-messaging company that sent the text messages on behalf of a client, to respond to written questions. Hilton, who represents both TTSU and Infobip’s client, argued that the push to reveal his client’s identity before the election is politically motivated and would cause harm. 

“They seek to inflict some of the same harms that they claim to be suffering,” Hilton said. “They seek to engage in electioneering.”

Infobip provided written answers in a court document signed on Wednesday—in which the name of its client is redacted. On Thursday, a TENT spokesperson told the Observer, the judge approved a motion to reveal that Infobip’s clients are the RWC Fund and someone named John Braun. A man named John Braun is currently a Washington state senator running for that state’s 3rd Congressional district seat; his congressional campaign lists as its treasurer Paul Kilgore, who is also the treasurer for RWC Fund as well as for two political action committees—the Senate Conservatives Fund and its super PAC Senate Conservatives Action—that have collectively spent nearly $140,000 to support Paxton’s campaign, which has denied involvement in the messages and mailers.

In response to an email sent to Braun’s congressional campaign, a representative said: “Must be a different John Braun. We have no idea what any of this is and have nothing to do with Texas politics.” The Texas Observer has requested comment from RWC Fund and will update this story with responses.

The RWC Fund was founded on March 14, 2025, by Kat Cammack, a Republican U.S. representative from Florida. It has only reported a little more than $168,000 in contributions through October 14, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

RWC Fund has previously sent out political emails under the sender name, “DOGE Team,” a reference to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which slashed government programs including life-saving international aid. It does not report any contributions from Musk, who is currently Paxton’s largest financial backer and has repeatedly hammered Talarico on the issue of transgender rights.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from state Senator John Braun’s campaign and will be updated to include any further responses.