This article is Part 4 of a four-part series demonstrating how the money in a lobby sector can impact state politics and legislation. Read the first three articles here, here, and here.

On May 1, voters in Lubbock passed Proposition A, a local ordinance that designated the city as a “sanctuary for the unborn,” with 62 percent of voters voting in favor. The election, which made Lubbock the largest city in the United States to establish such a designation, attracted heavy campaign spending by both sides as the trail to Election Day heated up.

Over the course of the 2020 election cycle, more than $662.5 million dollars were reported as contributions to Texas state-level candidates and PACs. Of that total, an astounding $46.9 million in donations went to Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign account. To put that number in context, Abbott’s donations account for seven percent of all Texas campaign contributions — and over 15 percent of candidate contributions — in an election cycle when he was not up for election.