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Art Pope, one of the most powerful conservative donors in North Carolina, was nominated to the UNC Board of Governors by state senate Republicans yesterday. In 2010, we launched an ongoing investigative series into his expansive political influence. 1/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2011/01/investigative-series-how-pope-reigns.html
We looked into his immense financial influence over the state’s conservative establishment: In 2010, the Pope family foundation provided about 90 percent of the funding for the state’s leading conservative think tanks and advocacy groups. 2/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/10/blessed-to-have-a-pope.html
We dug into his political spending, which fueled the 2010 Republican takeover of the North Carolina state legislature. 3/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/11/art-popes-big-day-republican-benefactor-fueled-gop.html
We found that Art Pope, in association with the Koch Brothers, has poured millions of dollars into climate denial campaigns and think tanks that have actively worked against policy solutions to climate change. 4/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2010/10/a-pope-of-climate-denial.html
In a cover story co-published with @indyweek, @chriskromm dug into the media outlets, think tanks, and election machines that formed Pope’s empire. 5/ https://indyweek.com/news/art-pope-empire-media-outlets-think-tanks-election-machines/
We covered the Pope Foundation's funding of anti-gay marriage groups. 6/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2011/11/art-popes-money-key-to-nc-anti-gay-marriage-push
In 2012, when Pope was appointed budget director by then-governor Pat McCrory, we looked back at the career of politicking and donating that got him there. 7/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2012/12/art-popes-path-to-power.html
In 2013, we found that 70 percent of the Pope Foundation’s donations went to conservative advocacy groups. 8/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2013/01/bulk-of-pope-foundation-money-channeled-into-conservative-advocacy.html
And we looked into his long history of funding politicians and organizations that helped restrict access to the ballot in North Carolina. 9/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2013/08/special-investigation-how-art-pope-helped-turn-bac.html
In 2013, Art Pope helped dismantle public financing for judicial elections in the state. We reported on that, too. 10/ https://www.facingsouth.org/2013/06/how-art-pope-killed-clean-elections-for-judges-in-.html
We also reported that Pope was a key player in North Carolina's 2016 racially gerrymandered congressional maps, which were thrown out by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2017. 11/x https://www.facingsouth.org/2016/02/big-moneys-map-mischief-in-north-carolina
