Gov. Greg Abbott Says Texas is Two House Votes Away from Passing School Vouchers
Abbott called on supporters to push through the primary runoffs to deliver the final pro-voucher members needed to pass his legislation.
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Gov. on Wednesday urged school voucher supporters to make the final push in the May primary runoff elections to bring a pro-school voucher majority to the Texas House.
Delivering the opening speech at an annual conservative policy conference in Austin, Abbott declared that the school voucher movement was 鈥渙n the threshold of success鈥 after the March 5 primary. The election saw several anti-voucher Republican incumbents lose to pro-voucher challengers, putting pro-voucher members on the verge of a majority in the Texas House, the last legislative roadblock to the policy.
鈥淲e are now at 74 votes in favor of school choice in the state of Texas. Which is good, but 74 does not equal 76,鈥 Abbott said, referring to the number of votes he needs to pass the bill into law. 鈥淲e need two more votes.鈥
The Texas Public Policy Foundation, which hosts the annual Texas Policy Summit where Abbott spoke, embarked with Abbott more than a year ago on a 鈥減arent empowerment鈥 campaign to bring school vouchers to Texas, holding events across the state to rally voters behind their effort. However, the pro-voucher campaign is running out of time to chip away at the anti-voucher side, as Abbott says the final vote count on school vouchers in next year鈥檚 legislative session will be decided in this year鈥檚 primary runoffs.
“This is not a time for you to sit on the sidelines and applaud the success that we’ve achieved,” Abbott said. “This is a time when all of us must come together, redouble our efforts knowing that the final vote count is going to be determined by what happens in just two months from now.”
The May 28 Republican primary runoffs carry more opportunities for the 鈥渟chool choice鈥 movement to pick up more voucher-supporting members, and Abbott said 鈥渨e should be able to win that.鈥 However, those votes aren鈥檛 guaranteed, and that tally assumes no surprises in the general election in November.
Abbott likened the effort to get a majority to a football game in which the outcome could be decided by a single kick.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to rely upon a field-goal kicker,鈥 Abbott said. 鈥淲e want to make sure that, when these runoffs are over at the end of May, that we are ahead by more than two points, or three points or four points.鈥
Abbott鈥檚 campaign began as an effort to motivate voters and win legislative support among members. But after the House voted to kill his voucher proposal, he shifted to an election campaign against anti-voucher Republicans. The governor endorsed 11 challengers to anti-voucher incumbents. Abbott backed his most recent endorsee, Katrina Pierson, after she earned a plurality against state Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall, and kicked off his runoff campaign tour on Tuesday at an event supporting Pierson.
House leadership, including Speaker Dade Phelan and the Republican caucus campaign apparatus, are financially backing Holland and his fellow anti-voucher incumbents. However, not everyone in leadership is supporting the anti-voucher members.
At a Texas Policy Summit panel that immediately followed Abbott鈥檚 speech, state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, said he鈥檚 tired of 鈥減laying nice鈥 on negotiating for anything other than 鈥渇ull universal鈥 vouchers.
鈥淚 hope every one of the people that win that runoff are pro-school choice, and if you鈥檙e supported by a teacher union, I don鈥檛 want you back,鈥 Cain said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that easy.鈥
This article originally appeared in . The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy.
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