(The Center Square) — A recent report by the conservative Alabama Policy Institute says Republican state lawmakers have received millions of dollars in contributions from the state teacher’s union despite a party ban.
According to the report, the Alabama Education Association was the most significant contributor to GOP candidates in the last election cycle.
The report says the teachers’ union gave House members in the 2022-23 reporting period $875,000 in direct contributions and senators $682,500.
The teachers’ union has given more than $2.4 million to 85 of the 105 members of the GOP-majority House over their careers.
The Alabama House has 76 GOP members along with 27 Democrats and only 18 Republican representatives declined union contributions.
According to the report, only seven state senators have passed on union cash, while over their careers, the rest took in $1.51 million.
The state has 27 GOP senators and eight Democrats.
While many lawmakers were happy to receive campaign cash from the teachers’ union, most statewide officials, including Gov. Kay Ivey, didn’t partake.
Some notable exceptions included three members of the state Board of Education – Tracie West, Yvette Richardson, Tonya Chestnut and Wayne Reynolds – and Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, a Republican who received $60,000 of the $195,000 given to statewide officials over the course of their electoral careers.
