Republicans take over the Kentucky legislature this week with the help of millions of dollars in contributions from the finance and energy industries.
Republican House candidates and committees received more than $8 million in contributions for the 2016 election cycle, according to an Associated Press analysis of disclosure reports.
The largest donations come from bankers, coal company CEOs and a bundle of checks wrangled by Nashville-based economist Arthur Laffer, a supply-side economist who once advised President Ronald Reagan.
Overall, House candidates and political parties on both sides raised nearly $19 million in 2016 for the pivotal elections that saw Republicans win a majority for the first time since 1921.
About $4.5 million came from political action committees, while $4.3 million came from individual donations.
