SAT Question c7cb5186: Form Structure And Sense answer and explanation

English - Form Structure And Sense - Finite And Nonfinite Verb Forms
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In a US national election, one might expect major-party campaigns to focus on the most populous states. However, if polls and past voting data suggest that the outcome in a given state is a foregone conclusion, a campaign will not invest its resources there. Ultimately, a state’s voting record and polling data, not its population size, ______ its importance to campaigns.
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Difficulty:Hard
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?