(LibertySons.org) – School vouchers allow families with children to use public dollars to pay tuition for private schools. Last year, Governor Greg Abbott (R) made it his mission to have the legislature pass a school voucher initiative in Texas. However, the measure failed, with many House Republicans siding with Democrats on the issue. Instead, the majority voted to remove vouchers from the education bill. The governor’s mission then changed — remove members of the Texas GOP.
Abbott reportedly caused seven incumbent Republican lawmakers to lose their primaries in March and forced even more into a runoff by pumping money into campaigns to remove them from the state legislature. Texas lobbyist John Colyandro was surprised by the move, calling it “unusual for an incumbent governor to campaign against members of his own party.” However, Abbott did just that — successfully.
With the help of funding from different conservative PACs, the governor hand-picked and supported challengers in particular state races. He simultaneously sent out mailers and campaign emails to sway voters away from the incumbents who dared to defy him on the school voucher issue. San Antonio Representative Steve Allison (R) was one of the ones targeted, but he doesn’t regret his choice. He believes the governor was wrong to do what he did, especially since the GOP members he zeroed in on were “with him 100 percent of the time on every issue” — save one, school vouchers.
Some mailers allegedly had false information on them to scare voters into ousting certain Republicans. Representative Glenn Rogers, who lost his primary, said the ad about him claimed he was “anti-gun” and indicated he was “drift[ing]” to the left. Rogers was also accused of being soft on the border. The incumbent said of the incident that “if you tell a lie often enough, it becomes truth to a low-information voter.”
By filling the legislature with pro-voucher Republicans, Abbott seems to be hoping for a legislative victory soon.
~Here’s to Our Liberty!
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