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Texas’ GOP Primary Signals Growing Momentum for School Choice
GOP primary results in Texas show that the school choice movement is gaining momentum, becoming a litmus-test issue for Republicans.
www.dailysignal.com
Republican primary voters in Texas sent a clear message on Super Tuesday: “We want school choice!”
The Texas House of Representatives last year failed to pass a school choice bill even after Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, repeatedly called the lawmakers back into special session. Twenty-one Texas House Republicans joined with all House Democrats to defeat the school choice proposal.
In response, Abbott took a page out of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ book. If the Legislature wouldn’t support school choice—which had the support of 88% of Texas Republican voters—then he would find a new Legislature.
When the Iowa Legislature voted down Reynolds’ education savings account proposal in 2022, she endorsed nine pro-school choice candidates who were challenging anti-school choice incumbents. Eight of them won.
The following year, the Iowa Legislature quickly passed the Republican governor’s school choice proposal, becoming the first state that year (and the third overall) to enact a universal school choice policy.
In Texas, Abbott endorsed 16 challengers to incumbents who had opposed his school choice proposal. Five others—likely seeing the writing on the wall—did not seek reelection. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wednesday: “Abbott-backed challengers appear to have beaten six incumbents, with four more headed for runoffs. Six incumbents appear to have survived.”