The fight over school choice in Texas has been yielding hefty fundraising sums ahead of the state’s Republican primary.
A lot of money has been pouring into the campaigns of several Texas lawmakers ahead of the March primary election. For instance, Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) has been supporting Republican incumbents in the House, including the 16 lawmakers who helped defeat school choice last year. However, Gov. Greg Abbott’s drive to see school choice policy enacted in the state seems to have yielded greater returns in terms of monetary support.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Abbott’s two campaign accounts generated over $19 million in the past six months, putting his war coffers for “education freedom” at roughly $38 million.
Some donors were from out-of-state. A record-breaking $6.25 million was donated by Jeff Yass, a Wall Street trader and resident of Philadelphia. Yass also recently wrote a $500,000 check to the AFC Victory Fund, the political action committee of the nonprofit American Federation for Children. The group states it aims to see school choice legislation passed across the country through the support of candidates who want to help “families to choose the best education for their children.”
Polling indicates there is broad support for some kind of school choice legislation across most demographics in the Lone Star State. The sentiment may, in part, be due to the dismal student achievement outcomes of many Texas public school systems.
For instance, Dallas ISD, Texas’ second-largest public school system, has been underperforming academically for years. According to its latest accountability report from the Texas Education Agency, only 41% of students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams during the 2021-2022 school year despite the hard work of the district’s dedicated teachers. Additionally, almost 20% of the district’s graduating seniors did not earn a diploma in four years.
Over the last couple of years, states including Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, and Utah have enacted taxpayer-funded policies to support families opting for private school or homeschooling, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
However, in Texas, the issue has faced opposition from those who think that a so-called “voucher” system would take taxpayer funds away from public school districts, as well as those who are simply reluctant to use taxpayer money in this way.
Still, Abbott’s campaign to enact school choice has increasingly shaped the political landscape ahead of a critical primary, with several House Republican incumbents facing an uphill journey to keep their seats.
“We’re seeing more incumbents with multiple challengers, which is dangerous territory for sitting legislators,” explained Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, according to The Dallas Morning News. “A key conservative talking point, a huge pile of money, and several challengers to dilute the vote leads to runoffs where incumbents might fare worse.”
Nonetheless, most anti-school choice Republican incumbents, such as Rep. Justin Holland (R-Rockwall), have more money on hand for their campaigns than their challengers. Holland’s campaign raised $407,000, and he reportedly has $288,000 more in cash.
Despite fundraising figures and polls suggesting pro-school choice candidates might have an advantage in their races, the finish line is still a long way off.
“There is a lot of soft ground to traverse in these primaries so, with two months until the election, much can happen,” Rottinghaus said, per DMN.