Texas state Senator Angela Paxton is leading a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers in Washington to advocate for a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling. Working with the nonprofit American Promise, the group seeks to restore states' rights to regulate campaign spending. The push comes as local elections in low-population states like Utah and Wyoming face an unprecedented influx of out-of-state dark money and super PAC spending.
Angela Paxton's advocacy and legislation
- ▪Texas state Senator Angela Paxton, who serves as vice chair of the committee writing election law, introduced a bill in Texas supporting the campaign finance constitutional amendment.
- ▪Texas state Senator Angela Paxton is leading a bipartisan delegation of state legislators in Washington to advocate for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.
- ▪Texas state Senator Angela Paxton plans to advance her campaign finance bill quickly once the Texas Legislature reconvenes in January.
Bipartisan delegation's campaign finance priorities
- ▪Republican state legislators in the bipartisan delegation state that their priority campaign finance reforms would be mandating immediate public disclosure of large donations and banning foreign contributions.
- ▪Republican Utah state Representative Jason Thompson joined the bipartisan delegation in Washington, citing exhaustion with how money is used to influence votes.
- ▪Wyoming state Senator Mike Gierau, one of two Democrats in Wyoming's upper legislature, joined the bipartisan delegation to Washington to advocate against big money in local elections.
American Promise's constitutional amendment strategy
- ▪American Promise plans to use an outside-in strategy to demonstrate to Capitol Hill that 38 states are ready to approve a 28th amendment to the United States Constitution.
- ▪The nonprofit organization American Promise is organizing state legislatures to support a constitutional amendment allowing states and Congress to regulate campaign finance, helping pass resolutions in 25 state legislatures, including Utah and Vermont.
Rising costs in local campaigns
- ▪Wyoming state Representative Andrew Byron stated that competitive local campaigns representing 9,500 people have risen in cost from $5,000 to over six figures.
- ▪Utah state Representative Jason Thompson expects to face up to $175,000 in outside super PAC spending in his November 2026 reelection campaign.
Overturning of Maine's foreign money ban
- ▪A Maine referendum banning foreign money in political campaigns was overturned last week by federal courts following Supreme Court precedents.
- ▪The Maine referendum to ban foreign money in political campaigns had won overwhelming support from voters before federal courts overturned it.
Supreme Court rulings on campaign spending
- ▪A Supreme Court decision written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2026 weakened the separation between federal candidates and allied party campaign committees, allowing coordinated expenditures.
- ▪Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the fullest application of the First Amendment applies to the conduct of campaigns, asserting that spending money on one's own speech must be permitted.
Debatable claims
- ▪Unlimited outside spending does more harm than good in local political campaigns
- ▪Congress and states should amend the Constitution to regulate campaign finance
- ▪Political campaign spending is a form of constitutionally protected free speech
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