they wanted by focuses on races that many people weren't paying a lot of attention to. a billionaire with a ton of money can influence elections like the house race. >> cnn special report. "deep in the pockets of texas" is next. i'm pamela brown. see you again next weekend. >> annnnouncer: the following ia cnn special report. >> wealthy people spend a lot of money to get policy made the way they want it, and they get it. >> now to sign the law. >> the average voter doesn't know what's happening behind the scenes. >> a texas bill targeting lgbtq+ children. >> they want to keep it secret. >> the texas law banning abortions. >> they really believe that they've been given a mandate by

god. >> he has set us free from the law. >> they want to destroy the public school system. >> we are not contending against flesh and blood. >> the money is all tied back to the same people. >> follow the money. >> i i am not comfortable with the transgenders. >> more than 09% of your financing came from billionaires. >> i don't think you would have any -- >> we're going to go inside and see if he will talk to us. is it about control? >> senator ted cruz. >> the power? >> it is a russian-style oligarchy, pure and simple.

>> it's election day. we're in the city of sherman, texas, which is right on the texas/oklahoma border. this is a ruby red area of texas, and the republican primary is essentially the election that matters here. come november in the general election, whoever the republican is that comes out of the primaries will very likely win whatever seat they're running for here in sherman. >> i thought, i need to run because the people that are running here claim to be conservative but aren't as conservative as they should be. >> i am not comfortable with the transgenders, the kids that they brought in my classroom when they said that this kid is transgendering into a different sex, that i couldn't have kids laugh at them. >> people outside of texas who

look and say texas is one of the most conservative states in the country. you're trying to make it more conservative. >> we still have kids that can have gender mutilation. we just want to make sure we keep our conservative values. >> welcome to another exciting night of texas high school football. >> your experience as a school board member seems to have opened up your eyes to the world of texas politics. >> it did. i felt like i could do more for the community, and school board felt like a good place to try and do that. in while i was serving -- >> i'm running for state representative of district 60. >> we had a new member join the texas house. he voted against the interests of the public schools multiple times. >> christian values, they're

under attack in the schools with lgbt -- >> that is what really got me thinking, why? >> i think you find in a lot of texas towns, the school district is kind of the heart of the community, right? so it was kind of strange. >> what did you start doing? >> well, i started pulling the money. i'm going in and puglling in mie wang. it was outrageous when you started looking at the pie chart seeing how big a section was coming from the same donor or just a handful of donors. they'll write massive checks to individual candidates and then write massive checks to all these packs, which write massive checks to individual candidates. >> and a lot of people don't have any idea. they don't know. >> i'm shelly. this is what i think about

chinese communist drones flying over my property. >> you ran for texas state senate in 2020. >> i did. >> you lost that election. >> i did. >> we look through the campaign finance report back in 2020, more than 90% of your financing came from two west texas billionaires. >> yes. >> ferris wilks and tim dunn. what do those men mean to your campaign? >> without them i couldn't run. they're great men. they're great people. >> you've been a columnist in fort worth for how long? >> oh my gosh, i tell people, since the last century. i followed 18 sessions of the texas legislature. >> sb-8 has virtually shut down all abortions in texas. people can now carry handguns in public without any kind of license or training.

>> do you think texas can get more conservative than it is right now? >> texas can very much get more conservative. but i don't think regular texans are as conservative as their elected officials. i don't think people realize that they're only a handful of millionaires who really control a large number of the members of the texas house. >> who are the people that you think have the biggest sway and control of the republican party in texas? >> tim dunn. >> i grew up in big spring. i worked at cosden refinery in the summers going to school. >> for 20 years tim dun in midland has been a leader of the midland oil team. >> drilled about 800 wells. i've ended up making more money than i ever thought possible. >> you have the wilks brothers and cisco. >> this is where i lived for the

first six years of my life. >> you've come a long way. >> yes, we have. >> they used to be in the fracking business. they made billions. >> we didn't expect a lot of the good things that did happen. >> i can hear the countries critics already saying you can't expect me to believe there's a handful of billionaires that can have an influence on this entire state of 30 milbillion people. >> that's what's pushing texans to the far right. the districts are so big and sprawling it's impossible to find somebody that everybody knows. so you have the west texas money that comes n hand picks a candidate nobody's ever heard of and they put $2 million into a campaign and they beat all the local candidates. there is a difference between these millionaires. they've got a faith in values, component to them, too.

there are forces in america foot that are trying to shame marriage. marriage was an honorable thing and trying to shame marriage, trying to shame men, trying to shame all kinds of things. >> a male on male, or female on female is against nature. so this lifestyle is a predatoryial life tile in that they need your children and straight people having kids to fulfill their sexual habits. they want your children. >> for people who don't know farris wilks and tim dunn, what are they like? >> mr. dunn is super down-to-earth jeans and like a button-up flannel shirt kind of guy. i did go to western texas and talk to them, because they

wanted to see what i was about. >> did you get put through the gauntlet of questions? >> absolutely. they want to make sure i am who i say i am. i have the christian values. asked me about my childhood and morals and what i believe in. on your mark, get set -- >> go! i >> i like to do swamimming, kare and i used to play soccer. >> what do you want people who are passing these bills to know about transgender kids? >> we're just normal kids that want and need normal lives. >> with the last bill in texas that passed, hb-25, she's unable to play sports at her school. >> a texas bill targeting lgbtq+ children. >> it bans transgender youth of participating on the sports team

which they identify. >> this is a time where kids are trying to figure out what sports do i really enjoy playing and what sports am i really good at and it promotes a healthy lifestyle, and she doesn't have that ability. >> you've heard of the texas balance nairs, tim dunn, farris wilks? >> yes. >> the bill's author and primary sponsor representative valerie swanson received funding from wilks and dunn in her 2016 campaign. how involved do you think they are in these issues? >> money always talks and if these legislators are agetting their funding from them and the funding could stop if they're not doing what the donors are asking them to do that speaks for itself. >> your senator in the dallas area. >> senator bob hall is ranked as the top conservative in the texas senate. >> received nearly half of his 2018 campaign funding from the

wilks and dunn network. >> when we return -- >> a friend of mine called me, please don't do that interview. >> former employee to tim dunn -- >> you were kept under lock and key. >> -- and conservative texas lawmakers. >> you can take an unqualified person and make them look like a legitimate officeholder. >> speak out out for the first time on camera. is this about being conservative or about control? >> it's about control. being conservative isn't good enough. they dance to whatever tune tim dunn wants to play. you may be missing a critical piece

preservision. preservision areds 2 contains the only clinically prov nutrient formula recommendedy the national eye institute to help reduce the risk of moderate to advanced amd progression. "preservision is backed by 20 years of clinical studies" "and its from the eye experts at bausch and lomb" so, ask your doctor about adding preservision. and fill in a missing piece of your plan. like i did with preservision" with age comes more... get more with neutrogena® retinol pro plus. a powerful .5% retinol that's also gentle on skin. for wrinkle results in one week. neutrogena®. for people with skin. (dad) ohhhhoooo.... (man) woah, woah, woah! no, no, no, no! ugh... (woman) huhhhhg.... (woman) ughh. ohh... (dad) no! ohhhhhh. (man) ugh, ugh, gaaahh. (woman) n, n, n, n... uggggg... (vo) don't worry. you may feel every ding, but your subaru's value won't.

the subaru outback has the best resale value in its class. (man) check please. mission control, we are go for launch. ♪ um, she's eating the rocket. ♪ lunchables! built to be eaten. ♪ and it's easier than ever to■ get your projects done right. inside, outside, big or small, angi helps you find the right so for whatever you need done. with angi, you can connect with and see ratings and reviews. just search or scroll to see upf on hundreds of projects. and when you book and pay throug you're covered by our happiness it's easy to make your home an a check out angi.com today. angi... and done. ...years faster than our initial projections. when you see things differently, you can be the difference.

capella university sees education differently. our flexpath learning format lets you earn your bachelor's degree at your pace. there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together. on miro.

texas isn't the only state in the country where we've seen really conservative legislation take hold, but what makes texas different is that it's usually on the forefront of pushing that legislation, and even conservative republicans here in texas will tell you that this isn't all just about political ideology, that there's something else happening here. >> no matter what rules you grew up, none of them are enforceable in god's kingdom. >> this is the private school that tim dunn founded back in 1998. this is midland bible church. tim dunn has preached here many times. >> he has set us free from the law. there's no condemnation for those who walk according to the

spirit. >> we're here in midland, texas, it's part of your own district. it's also home to tim dunn. ♪ >> you're voting record is just as conservative as many of the people who might be supported by these west texas billionaires and you voted for the abortion bill. you vote for the no permit gun carry bill. >> mm-hmm. >> and the bill that limits the discussion of race and depender in class room, you voted for that as well. >> mm-hmm. >> so why haven't the tim dunns and ferries wilks supported you? it seems like you're doing things that they agree with. >> my voting record is conservative. is it 100% conservative? no. there's 100%ers and you're either owned or not owned. >> in 2006 dunn actually donated

$500 to your senate campaign, and since then dunn has donated to texas politicians and political action committees across the state. none of that money has gone to you. >> i met him in my first campaign, and we talked, and i told him that i would be open-minded towards what was his sole issue in 2004 which was taking public money and giving it to private schools. once i looked at the legislation there i couldn't support it, and so i guess that was alienating. >> we went back and looked at some of your campaign donation numbers and what stood out is that if you look at over your entire political career as a state senator, your largest donor accounted for about 4% of your total campaign funding. does that make you a different kind of public servant? >> i would like to think so. you want to make sure that people know that it's about them, not about money. >> so the way you describe this

is it almost sounds like, you know, senator joe smith to make up a name, if they have got a ton of money that's coming from these west texas billionaires, those billionaires are really the elected official. >> it is a russian-style oligarchy, pure and simple. really, really wealthy people who are willing to spend a lot of money to get policy made the way they want it, and they get it. >> the cornerstones of our government are crumbling and starting to come apart, and it's because of the lack of morality, the lack of the belief in our heavenly father. ♪ >> for more than a decade, you were winning elections out here in east texas. >> mm-hmm. ♪ >> i look at myself more as a

reagan conservative, someone that was interested in good government and policy. >> in all of your time in the tensias senate, you never received any money from tim dunn, ferries wilks. >> oh, no. >> any of the pacs that they represent? >> no. >> and someone who says, look, i have a hard time believing that a couple of guys who were donating to candidates across the state can really have this much influence i just don't buy it. >> i had one senator literally open a book and say i think i could vote for that because i haven't vote against them yet so far. what kind of public policy -- i'm not going to name them but someone still there. >> that's what governing in texas has become in texas. >> that's what we call scorecard voting they don't look at the issues. >> what is a scorecard issue? >> it's the dunns and the wilks. they will put up a challenger who doesn't vote the way they want. the republicans in texas are watching their scorecard.

am i conservative enough? oh, my gosh. are the wilks brothers going to send an opponent up against me? they let everybody know before a vote saying this will be a scorecard vote. records will be kept, you know, how you voted on this. they hand pick those bills, but they publish the list and who is the most conservative based on the score hard. >> and that scorecard still exists. >> they do it every election, every cycle. >> we're driving through downtown cisco. >> i call it the heart texas. austin is three and a half hours southwest of us of. this is the textans fiscal

responsibility website where the scorecard is publish. this is my former bob, tom lane. 2017 session he got an a-plus. 2017 he got an a-minus. >> a scorecard that shows up in republican voter primary mail boxes come primary season. >> right, right. this is senate, whenever i was still in the house. jonathan sticklund, there you go. top 98. >> he's no longer a lawmaker? >> he's the head of the pac that dunn and wilks funded. >> texas political pac? >> no question he has the highest rating for that particular year and now he works for them. former representative mike lang, he got campaign money from ferries wilks and his pacs. you were his former campaign manager? >> yes. >> and then his chief of staff? >> correct. >> before you went to work for

mike lang, you used to work for empower texans, tim dunn's organization. >> i have to be very careful with what i say because i'm underneath a non-disclosure agroom myself. >> the wilks family is from cisco. did you know about them when you grew up here? >> yeah. we go way back to one of my really close friends, actually dan's daughter, ferries' brother. ferries and his side of the family and that's more the political side of the family and then you've got dap and his wife stacy. they are more philanthropic. a little less on the political side. i think they got into politics a little bit and they are like i don't think that's for us. >> how well do tim dunn and ferris wilks know each other? >> they have a relationship for sure, and i think that it has grown. i mean, if you will be at some of their public expenditures, it's pretty obvious that they share a lot of the same beliefs

and they share a lot of the same organizations that they fund. >> coming up -- >> they really believe that they have been given a mandate by god to take dominion over society. >> you heard ferris women ex-talk like that? >> yes, they really believe that. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein.

psst. girl. you can do better. ok. wow. i'm right here. and you can do better, too. at least with your big name wireless carrier. with xfinity mobile, you can get unlimited for $30 per month on the nation's most reliable 5g network. they can even save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill, over t-mobile, at&t and verizon. wow. i can do better. yes, you can. i can do better, too. break free from the big three and switch to xfinity mobile.

as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.

♪ former representative mike lang, do you think he could have won without the money he got from ferris wilks and his ads? >> absolutely not. no way. it takes money to run a campaign, and as you can see from mike's donor list, it's not going to get you very far. >> well, what kind of influence did ferris wilks have over mike lang? >> whenever he called he answers. there was a lot of control. >> ferris wilks and his people expected mike lang to vote the way he wanted to vote every time. you're his chief of staff. how would that work? >> a lot of time the reps are controlled through other arms so, for example, texas right to life. they put out these vote

recommendations. of course, they tell you they are just recommendations. they are just how we feel. i'm not telling you have to vote this way, but if you don't. >> so the tentacles of this political operation are long. >> yes. >> and can squeeze very tightly. >> yes. ♪ >> we're coming up on the assembly of ferris echurches. >> we're not protesting against the world rulers of this present darkness. >> you've got to be you. you start changing one time for people, and it's over. >> i went to seminary after being on city council for my fourth term. it's almost like hallowed ground here.

after i graduated in 2013 and founded an organization christians in public service to help train public servant leaders who are christians how to serve of god's way. had nothing to do with government. i'm just speaking around the country, training, teaching. >> from a conservative thee long call viewpoint. >> exactly. i don't know anything else. >> do you get invited to speak at the christian values summit? >> right. i became one of the speakers. i was on the circuit from 2015 through 2016, the pastor who was sponsoring this, he says my brother-in-law supports it. i didn't know who his brother-in-law was, and it turns out his brother-in-law was ferris wilks. they speak and they speak on liberty and freedom and christianity and government and all those things. i was doing it because we were all christians, and we were all wanting america to be better. we wouldn't be the country we are today if it had not been for the involvement of the church.

we went to d.c. to cpac. ferris is always there. very quiet man, very nice map. you would look at him, and you would never think that he was a billionaire. >> what made you want to break away from the christian values summit? >> when i began to put it all together. being theologically trained and having opinion in politics for so long, in texas, i'm going to say this because i don't now how else to say, it we know shit from sugar in texas. they really believe that they have been given a mandate by god to take dominion over society and run all these areas, and they call it the seven mountains or search pillars, government, religion, education, the family, business, media and arts and

entertainment. they believe that they have been given that mandate by god in genesis 128 when god says i give you dominion over the earth to have dominion over the fish and the sea and the birds and the air. >> by dominion you mean -- >> take control. >> establish the rules by which we live and work and play. >> yes, that's dominionism. >> have you heard ferris wilks talk like that? >> yes, yes. they really believe that. if i had not known theology better, i would have believed it, too. but that's not what god meant. that's not what god said. dominion is not domination. he said take dominion which means actually caretaker, manager, not overtake and dominate.

it's a theological era, but it's one that they operate from and one that they really, really believe. >> our families are under attack. in our place it's men as leaders, and the home is under attack. >> dominionism is so much more a broader agenda than christian nationalism. what is christian nationalism? >> christian nationalism is a religious and political ideology that believes that america's founders intended for the united states to be an explicitly christian nation governed and guided by biblical christian principles. that the nation has departed from those principles and that it should become a christian nation again. >> america chose god as king over a tyrant.

today the choice is still before us. >> tim dunn, ferris wilks, is it fair to say that they are christian nationalists? >> those sermons suggest that they hold certain christian nationalist beliefs, and they are putting their money to support christian nationalism. >> we're seeing a trend in our nation that will force us and the christian community to be shared of our values going forward because i think we'll be persecuted and so it's time that we stabbed up. >> when you say christian nation, i take that to mean you don't believe in separation of church and state. >> some christian nationalists say church-state separation is a myth. raphael cruz -- >> separation of church and state is not in the constitution, not in the declaration. >> the pastor and father of u.s. senator tet cruz, talk about separation of church and state as being a one-way wall of

separation, that is, it's meant to keep the government out of religion but not to keep religion out of government. the word of god tells us we should be having an influence upon government, every area of life. it's about time that we draw a line in the sand and we say no more! we will take it no more! >> that's not church day celebration. that is christian domination. ♪ coming up -- >> they want to destroy the public school as we know it. >> have you ever been targeted like that in your education? >> never, never. >> and later, do you think that their vision it to take their political involvement beyond texas? >> god isn't done with america yet. >> absolutely. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch.

cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. this is the moment. but we've only just begun. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. an innovation from pfizer. you might have heard of carvana and that we sell cars online. we believe buying a car should be something that gets you hyped up. and that your new car ought to come with newfound happiness and zero surprises. and all of us will stop at nothing to drive you happy. we'll drive you happy at carvana.

seen this ad? it's not paid for by california tribes. it's paid for by the out of state gambling corporations that wrote prop 27. it doesn't tell you 90% of the profits go to the out of state corporations. a tiny share goes to the homeless, and even less to tribes. and a big loophole says, costs to promote betting reduce money for the tribes, so they get less. hidden agendas. fine print. loopholes. prop 27. they didn't write it for the tribes or the homeless. they wrote it for themselves.

>> how do you protect your children and educate them at the same time? the people that are supposed to be the shepherds are not teaching the truth. >> every school i've been a principal, i've been the first black principal. those kids are amazing. this is at hair tarnlgs huff. this is the p tsa, had an ice cream social and meeting the first black principal of collier valley high school.

do you think of what that means? >> i didn't really think about it. while i knew there was so much to the job. it was just hike hit the ground running. >> when did it turn? >> over the courts of the last school year. that's when things changed. in the summer a former board candidate accused whitfield of advocating for critical race theory aspirins past whitfield was placed on leave after the accusations. >> the school board voted not to renew whitfield's contract meaning he's officially out aspirins pallate colleyville heritage. >> whitfield says this all start back in the summer of 2020 when he penned a heartfelt note to the school community after george floyd's murder. >> can you read some for us. >> dear family, trust this message finds you nice and well. as i type these words it's 4:30 in the morning, and i cannot sleep. i encourage us all not to grow weary in the battle against systemic racism, commit to being

anti-racist. while there are great obviousicles to face please know i'm with you on this journey to reconciliation. sip seriously james. >> have you ever been targeted like to in your education career? >> never, never. never had any issues or concerns. my team in the district was great up until that july 26th school board meeting. >> first meeting where mr. whitfield's extreme view on race when a concerned citizen shared with me a letter. >> stetson clark's was the first person for you called to be fired. >> right, right. >> because of his extreme views i asked this a full review of mr. whitfield's tenure in our district be examined an his step

you're cancelled immediately. >> he described this as a conspiracy theory. >> being revolutionaries by becoming anti-racist. he's encouraging the disruchgs our history. >> do you want that kind of person who lacks that level of understanding to be responsible for making decisions that are in the best interest of kids and educators on a daily basis? >> i wanted to read this other letter. there's this group called the texas policy foundation and they wrote a left on november 8th of 2021ance and the vice chairman has been tim dunn. it's a right wing think tank, and i wanted to read part of it to you. it says education freedom, setting the captives free would break the woke soundtracklehold of critical race theory, queer theory and hate america curricula.

that education will lose funding, and that means that the indoctrination will not survive. when you hear that kind of language about texas public schools, what's your reaction? >> it really has nothing to do with critical race theory. it has nothing to do with a lot of things they are destroying. of they want to destroy them because they would much rather that schools that are faith-based. >> the bible is a book mainly about politics, but the most important thing to do is don't surrender. it doesn't matter what they tell us if we stand and we are vigilant. we will win. >> before our children we must be sure that they know how to follow teaching rather than social conscience. when the bible clearly teach us us one thing and our parents teach us another, what do our children need to know what to do.

>> good afternoon, hd representative from hd-60. oil and gas is great for school distickets. >> did ferris little ex-ever direct mike lang on how to vote on any specific legislation regarding public schools, for example? >> ferris who make-hour that mike is toeing the line. anything that is in any sort of way propping up the current system, a public school was not an okay stance to have. >> what did you do in school? >> the goal is to knock the legs out that it. 100%. he's gotten sick phone calls saying just want to shake you're you're on the right bath. >> when we return, do you think the average voter in this state understands the magnitude of what this political movement is pushing? >> no, they don't.

>> clearly you knew then you were a target? >> that's the law of the jungle now in texas. if maga republicans get their way, abortion will be banned nationwide, with no exceptions. medicare and social security will end in five years, with no replacement. elections will be decided by politicians, with no regard for your vote. if maga republicans get back in power, your rights, benefits and freedoms will be in danger. democrats will protect your rights. and the only way to stop maga republicans is to vote for democrats.

ff pac is responsible for the content of this ad. she is fearless heart's on the line depend silhouette keeping leaks off her mind. comfortable in shapeware fabric she moves with ease. confident on nights like these. depend silhouette. the only thing stronger than us, is you. this is lily. when you see things differently, you can be the difference. ♪ capella university sees education differently. our flexpath learning format helps you control the pace and cost of your master's degree. there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together.

on miro. t-mobile has 5g here, here...and we also cover you up here. yep! get free wi-fi, now with streaming, all flight long. we do coverage differently. with expanded high-speed data across the world. so you're connected here, and...here? not yet. but down here you're covered, with a year of aaa roadside assistance on us. on the ground, in the air, overseas... t-mobile has coverage beyond the expected. [ "back to life" by soul ii soul ] what if you could change your surroundings with the touch of a finger? now you can. biometric id...

inside the innovative, new c-class. there are more than 17 million registered voters in texas, but less than 2 million people voted in the 2020 republican primary. do you vote in primaries? >> i voted early voting. >> have you ever heard of tim dunn and ferris wilks? >> no. >> and if i told you that they are west texas billionaires who donate millions of dollars to candidates all over the state,

would that surprise you? >> no. >> does it bother you in any way? >> yes. >> how so? can you help the little people? >> can you talk about the influence that those two men have on the state's republican politics? >> i think what you're getting at is what do they want for this money? yeah, nothing. he wants me to do what i say that i represent. >> did you vote for shelly luther? >> i did. >> wilks and dunn have donated the lion's share of the campaign financing for shelly luther's campaign, so i'm wondering if that bothers you in any way, or does it influence how you vote? >> if i knew more about them possibly if it was bad, but, no, i think all of them get money from somewhere. >> do you just kind of get inundated with the flyers in the mail? >> i've got i don't know how many nyers and my email.

>> they score conservatives up to 100% and they kind of go down the line. did you know it was a west tensias billionaire behind the scorecard? >> no, i did not. >> does that make you question it at all, make you weary or embrace it a little bit? >> now that i know, yeah, it probably would affect me more. i should have found that out i guess. >> i don't mean to make you feel -- >> i don't, because, like i said, i did all the information-gathering that i could. >> this is the texas house of representatives. 150 members from all over the state come in to make the laws that will we live under. >> how long have you covered texas politics? >> about 27 years. they don't have to win the

election to have moved the needle in texas. >> let's say you're a republican representative in the texas house and you get a well-funned challenger and that challenger is funded by somebody's west texas billion airs, and, therefore, you have a tough race. they force republicans to the right, one or low. >> we did our research. all the money from outside the distrishts all this west texas money made him into a viable candidate. >> bob duell turned his back on patients and proudly turned to texas right for life. >> they have spent their money on vote guides and political

consultants. >> pro-life issues are very important to republicans and then all of a sudden one of the old-established pro-life groups is saying aim not pro-life which, is as you know, ridiculous. >> how conservative of the senate were you? you co-authored a bill that was aing mo the strictest in the country. it closed 21 of 42 abortion clinics in 2005 and in signatures the supreme court said this was just up constitutional. >> no, that's fine, that's fine. if i did it i did if. why would a group like texas right to life turn and -- i didn't do what they wanted me to done the end of life issue. >> what was it that caused so

many problems? >> they wanted no matter what the family's patient is and even though it might be each cruel to the parent to do so that would be extreme. i'm pro-life and one or two issues and they turn on you. >> that. the year after law wilks gave texas right to life ak-80% of their money. you had two close elections, bet -- he received half money from wilks and you used that to be in a primary target. >> there was no history and no surprise. that's the dfsh the majority of republican smart members just,

they don't to whatever tune tim dunn wants to play. ♪ >> when ted cruz ran for president in 2016 ferris and his brother gave $10 million. cruz had only $23 million in his superpac. do you think it's their agenda to take this beyond texas? >> absolutely. i think they are pushing more local and trying to build up. >> school board races, county race commissioner races, they are not as sexy is as the statewide senate race or a presidential campaign. >> no. >> but those are the offices that have far more influence on people's lives.

>> do you want your own cards, or are you going to be on my team? don't look at my cards. >> i have no idea why people don't understand why i'm just a girl, an 11-year-old girl living in texas with amazing hair. >> in december of 2021 on a website called texas scorecard, an organization tim dunn launched seven years ago and he remains on the board of directors, there's this article called cowards in the pull lit and in the last section the author writes, quote, that is time that requires physical boldness, not spiritualized cowardice, we need strong pastors and shepherds in the pulpit willing to kifl the wolves literally. it was one of tim dunn's top political advisers that wrote

that. what you do i kill the wolves literally means? >> i'm scared to each ito the size. >> it makes me think of the crusades and the dark angst. >> i imagine from where you sit maybe someone views you as the wolves. >> sounds like it. >> sounds like it. it's strange to think that. it -- it really is. >> do you worry that esit's just an escalation of the rhetoric, that it's an escalation of the anger in our politics and ultimately that that could mean something very bad for you guys? >> when you use inflammatory speech like that it riles the base. having an enemy is a strong way to unite people, and it seems like that's what they are trying to do. ♪ >> we have been trying to reach ferris wilks and tim dunn for weeks. we're calling ferris wilks'

office here in cisco, texas. >> i don't think he would come out here anyway but thank you for reaching out . ♪ >> this is crown quest operating tim dunn's business, and we're going to go inside to see if we can track him down to talk to us. they took my name and number down. they are going to get the message to the assistant .

(fisher investments) it's easy to think that all money managers are pretty much the same, but at fisher investments we're clearly different. (other money manager) different how? you sell high commission investment products, right? (fisher investments) nope. fisher avoids them. (other money manager) well, you must earn commissions on trades. (fisher investments) never at fisher investments. (other money manager) ok, then you probably sneak in some hidden and layered fees. (fisher investments) no. we structure our fees so we do better when clients do better. that might be why most of our clients come from other money managers. at fisher investments, we're clearly different.

at xfinity, we're constantly innovating. and we're working 24/7 to connect you to more of what you love. we're bringing you the nation's largest gig speed network. available to more homes than anyone else. and with xfi complete, get 10x faster upload speeds.

tech upgrades for your changing wifi needs. and advanced security at home and on the go to block millions of threats. only from us... xfinity. [ speaking foreign language