. >> 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. >> drill

. >> so why not have the tim dunns and the ferris wilkes supported you?re doing stuff that they agree with. >> my voting record is very conservative. is it 100% conservative? no. the hundred percenters, you're either owned or not owned. >> the way you describe this, it almost sounds like senator joe smith, to make up a name, if they've got a ton of money that's coming from these west texas billionaires, those billion naires 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. >> and so, jake, you know, we're talking about tim dunn and ferris wilkes. these are not household names in texas. you can almost kind of think of them like the koch brothers here in texas. they operate very quietly behind the scenes, and they have been effective for years. >> calling them the texas koch brothers sounds better than calling them texas's version of russian oligarchs. what makes them so effective? >> what th

>> much of the special report focuses on ferris wilks and tim dunn, two west texas billionaires who donatedtate and they have very effective, very smart about it the way they've spent their money. we'll get into a lot of that, but outside of the political world, if you work in politics here in texas, you know full well who these men are but the average voter doesn't and that's why we thought it was important to shed light on it. >> what do you think for our viewers, why should they stick around to watch this? what do you think will surprise them and the takeaway will be? >> we focused on hearing from people who were intricately, intimately involved in the behind-the-scenes work of governoring and getting people elected, so you'll hear from republicans who are very close to all of this. some of them were the victims of the political fights that went on here. you'll hear from lawmakers essentially pushed out of office and that's who you heard from in that clip there. it's fascinating to see the way these billionaires have wielded their influence across state politics. as i mentioned, they've

but if you talk to average voters, as we will show you, they have no idea who ferris wilkes and tim dunnall across the state. so, you know, it's interesting, you would think that two people who have the kind of influence and have wielded the kind of influence that they have in elections for quite some time now, that they would perhaps be household names. but the fact are they are not. they don't grant interviews. they don't talk much about what they do publicly. they operate behind the scenes. and as i mentioned, they have done it very effectively for quite some time. and it is one of the main reasons why you have seen such a ri rightward shift in texas politics even as the state here, jim, has become perhaps a little bit more blue. we'll open up that can of worms for viewers. it really is a dynamic process that's happening right now. >> if democrats can get back into power in texas, what are the prospects they can reform the way the state operates? >> i mean, at this point, jim, first they have to win a statewide election, which they have not done in almost 30 years. any talk of anythin

. >> so why not have the tim dunns and ferris wilkes supported you? >> my voting record is very conservative. is it 100% conservative? no. there are 100%ers and you're either owned or not owned. >> the way you describe this, it almost sounds like, you know, senator joe smith, to make up a name, if they've 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. >> ed joins me now from dallas. ed, it's an incredible charge. his words, russian oligarchy, right? longtime republican state senator that you're interviewing. why is the influence of these billionaires so significant in texas politics? >> well, it is influence that has been growing for years. and it's significant in large part because, you know, if you've been following texas politics from afar, you've heard over and over how many people believe that te