Texas

From what I've read, it was almost assuredly always going to fail, so it was little more than pandering to the GOP base.

Texas GOP officials do that a lot. They spend millions on efforts that never had a chance to do anything other than appease the base. Abbott did it all the time as AG. All he ever seemed to do was sit in his office and file frivolous suits against the Obama administration, costing taxpayers untold millions.