How Austin Actually Works (Part 1): The People with the Most Influence Aren’t the Ones You Vote For

After 26 years of service defending liberty and the Constitution, I didn’t come home expecting Texas government to be perfect.

But I also didn’t expect this:

According to Texas Ethics Commission data, the single largest share of lobbying money in Austin does not go to elected officials.

It goes to unelected legislative staff and government employees.

Over the last three decades, tens of millions of dollars were spent not on lawmakers — but on:

• bill drafters,

• committee staff,

• agency personnel, and

• regulators.

These are the people who shape legislation before it ever reaches a vote.

You can’t vote them out. You rarely hear their names.And yet they are among the most heavily targeted actors in Texas politics.

That’s not corruption in the movie-villain sense.

It’s something more dangerous: a system where influence flows quietly to places voters never see — and can’t touch.

If you’ve ever wondered why calling your representative feels like shouting into the wind, this is a big part of the answer.

This series is about naming how the system actually works — because we can’t fix what we refuse to name.