Writing for the Texas Observer. Josephine Lee looks at what GOP gains in Texas mean for the push for privatization.
Abbott declared that there are now 79 “hardcore school choice proponents” in the state House, enough to meet the simple 76-vote majority needed to pass a voucher bill.
Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at the Michigan State University, told the Texas Observer that Abbott is following the same playbook as in 30-some states where vouchers were passed. “A lot of outside dollars are spent on the Republican primary processes. The only difference with Texas is that you do have this longer bipartisan tradition of opposition, but it’s also a lot bigger and a lot more expensive to play in the primary game [in the Texas Lege].”
But there’s no shortage of big money in Texas GOP politics. As [Charles] Johnson told the Observer, “If you’ve got billions of dollars at your disposal, you can buy a legislature. And that’s what Tim Dunn, Farris Wilks, and Jeff Yass, Betsy DeVos, and others in their network have done. They bought a legislature.”
Despite Abbott’s declaration of victory, there are still a number of factors that may upset his voucher agenda.
“We have one more election before the session starts that may be the most important, and that is the election of a speaker,” said Democratic state Representative James Talarico, who serves on the House public education committee. Speaker Dade Phelan is currently facing a mutiny from a significant bloc of the Republican caucus who want him gone. GOP House members will hold a caucus meeting in early December to cast their (non-binding) votes for speaker.
“A lot is going to change over the next few months,” Talarico said.
After Donald Trump announced Abbott was on his vice presidential shortlist back in February, Abbott told reporters he planned to run for governor again in 2026. But Trump’s election has prompted another round of speculation that he might end up in other positions in Trump’s new administration next year.
