With ballots still being counted across the state, anti-voucher GOP state Reps. DeWayne Burns of Cleburne, Justin Holland of Rockwall and John Kuempel of Seguin were trailing their runoff opponents.
2 hours agoMembers vote to approve an anti-voucher amendment brought by state rep. Abel Herrero, D-Robstown, during a marathon session on the House floor on April 06, 2023.Three House Republicans who opposed school vouchers last fall were losing through early returns in their primary runoffs Tuesday, putting Gov. Greg Abbott on track to secure a tentative majority in the lower chamber on his signature issue.
A fourth GOP voucher holdout, state Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, led runoff opponent Chris Spencer through early returns and a fraction of election day results., voucher supporters headed into Tuesday’s runoff needing to net just two votes to gain a majority in the House, the chamber where a firewall of Democrats and rural Republicans has shot down past attempts to provide taxpayer funds for private school tuition.as his top priority in recent years.
Most of Texas’ House districts have been drawn to heavily favor Democrats or Republicans, making most seats unlikely to change hands this fall. But Democrats are eyeing at least one seat Abbott is counting as a voucher pickup: San Antonio’s House District 121, where state Rep. Steve Allison lost to an Abbott-backed primary challenger, Marc LaHood, in March.
AFC Victory Fund, the super PAC political arm of the voucher advocacy group American Federation for Children, has spent around $2 million in the runoffs boosting pro-voucher primary challengers. And Club for Growth, a federal PAC,in TV and radio ads targeting the four anti-voucher Republicans who were pushed into runoffs, along with House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont.
Politics Public Education State Government Texas House Of Representatives Greg Abbott John Kuempel Justin Holland Dewayne Burns Gary Vandeaver Texas Legislature
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