Abbott targets Republicans who oppose school vouchers

The national movement for school vouchers has burgeoned in recent years, riding the momentum of Republican championing of parental rights during the covid-19 pandemic. More than 30 states now have programs that let parents use taxpayer dollars to take their children out of public schools. Yet there remains a stubborn holdout, one particularly notable because it’s a red state: Texas.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his allies are mounting a crusade to change that in the state’s Republican primaries today. They are pouring tens of millions of dollars into an effort to unseat a group of state House Republicans who blocked a voucher proposal last year, echoing long-held concerns it would devastate public schools.

The school voucher fight headlines a Texas primary that otherwise features little drama at the top of the ticket. Former president Donald Trump is expected to romp in the state’s presidential primary, while Rep. Colin Allred is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

Abbott has been campaigning enthusiastically for the challengers, headlining multiple events for each of them in recent weeks.

In the texas legislature, the anti-voucher coalition’s numbers dwindled last year, but it held firm enough to keep a voucher proposal from reaching Abbott’s desk.

Ultimately, 21 Republicans in the House voted to strip the program out of an omnibus education bill in November. Sixteen of them are seeking reelection, and Abbott has endorsed primary challengers to 10 of them. He has also endorsed candidates for the open seats.