The floodgates of Texas political giving are about to reopen on June 21 and they will not close again while the Texas Legislature convenes for upcoming special sessions.

In session and out, lobbying is by far the biggest source of money in Texas politics. Taxpayers foot a sizable chunk of the bill, accounting for as much as $110 million (over 16 percent of the total reported lobbying money) during the 2020 election cycle time period. Another $70,429,959 (also around 16 percent of the total) has spent using taxpayer dollars in the 2021 so far.

A recent AP article questioned why several Democratic presidential candidates were spending $60 — or as much as $90, according to some campaigns — to raise one dollar. Yes, you read that right. Many Democratic presidential candidates have been spending millions on social media advertising to collect contributions as small as one dollar per donor. Surely, they’re not that bad at math.