As I noted previously, the richest man in Pennsylvania, Jeff Yass, gave Governor Gregg Abbott a gift of more than $6 million to push hard for vouchers, and he did. Abbott lost his fight for vouchers in the regular session of the Legislature, and he called four additional special sessions to keep trying. He refused to give increases to public schools and raises to teachers unless he got vouchers, but he didn’t get vouchers. Some rural Republicans held out against him, because they didn’t want to hurt their local public schools, the schools they graduated from. So Abbott spread the $30 billion state surplus as a property tax cut, schools be damned. After failing to pass vouchers, Abbott threatened to primary the rural Republicans who did not support vouchers. And now it begins, as big money flows into the primaries in Republican districts to defeat the public school supporters.
Robert T. Garrett and Philip Jankowski wrote this article for the Dallas Morning News:
AUSTIN — A looming dogfight over “school choice,” fast emerging as a litmus test issue within the Texas GOP, has triggered a rush of huge campaign contributions in the run-up to the March primary.
Most of the money is flowing to legislative candidates who favor voucherlike programs that proponents say will rescue some Texas families from ill-suited public schools — and to committees such as those controlled by Gov. Greg Abbott that are bent on defeating “school choice” opponents.
Republican House lawmakers who oppose Abbott’s proposed education savings accounts as a potentially budget-busting entitlement are receiving some financial help to ready their defenses, according to new campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Generating applause and protests was Abbott’s receipt late last year of $6.25 million from Wall Street billionaire Jeff Yass, an options trader who lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Yass, a longtime crusader for voucherlike programs, also gave $500,000 last month to AFC Victory Fund, a new entrant in the Texas school voucher wars.
Its parent, the American Federation for Children, has long been associated with former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
“The richest man in Pennsylvania may want a school voucher program in Texas, but Texans don’t,” said Nicole Hill, communications director of AFT Texas, referring to Yass. Hill’s union represents 66,000 teachers and support personnel in Texas school districts, along with higher education employees.…
Abbott’s push
Abbott has vowed to help defeat fellow Republicans who tanked his ESA proposal. While the three-term Republican governor has restored his war chest to nearly $39 million, he hasn’t begun spending in the House primary battles taking shape — at least, as of Dec. 31, according to his reports, which covered the last six months of 2023.…
In addition, the AFC Victory Fund had nearly $3.3 million in cash. It and other pro-school choice PACs are expected to open their checkbooks soon.
Meanwhile, the 7-month-old Family Empowerment Coalition PAC, a pro-ESA group cofounded by Dallas businessman DougDeason, showered $175,000 on Republican insurgents trying to unseat seven of the House GOP incumbents who defied the governor.
Risk to incumbents
Speaker Dade Phelan, who remained neutral in last fall’s fight over using public money to help subsidize private school for certain families, is defending incumbents, including the “rural 16” who defied Abbott.
Of the 21 Republicans who joined Democrats in killing ESAs in November, 16 are seeking reelection. Most are from rural districts, though some hail from suburbs.
Phelan purchased $942,950 worth of polling to help House GOP incumbents and gave $15,000 to each of seven of the embattled voucher opponents.
H-E-B grocery magnate Charles Butt of San Antonio, a longtime opponent of vouchers, gave $20,000 to each of the 16 Republican representatives who refused to bend.
Some of the targeted House incumbents reported huge cash advantages over their challengers, such as Rep. Reggie Smith of Sherman, who had about $262,000. Challenger Shelley Luther, a Dallas hair salon owner who defied COVID-19 edicts, had less than $7,000 as of Dec. 31, her report showed.
But Rep. Gary VanDeaver of New Boston was behind one of his opponents, Linden grocery store owner Chris Spencer, in cash, thanks to a $300,000 loan by Spencer to his own campaign.
GOP Rep. Glenn Rogers of Graford, with $71,000 in cash, was running behind his opponent from Aledo, Mike Olcott, who loaned himself $140,000, while GOP Rep. Steve Allison of San Antonio had about the same amount of cash on hand as his challenger, Marc LaHood.
University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said the rural 16 have to be concerned.
“We’re seeing more incumbents with multiple challengers, which is dangerous territory for sitting legislators,” he said. “A key conservative talking point, a huge pile of money, and several challengers to dilute the vote leads to runoffs where incumbents might fare worse.”
Turnout in the March 5 Texas primary could dwindle if former President Donald Trump sweeps the early-voting states in the Republican presidential contest, Rottinghaus said.
“That crystallizes the power a few dedicated groups may have to move the needle on school choice,” he said.
North Texas business leaders are supporting Abbott in the fight.
Last summer, Deason, a conservative activist on criminal-justice issues, joined former conservative Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville and longtime Houston GOP activist Leo Linbeck III to create the Family Empowerment Coalition PAC, or FECPAC.
It gave $25,000 each to seven of the 16 House Republicans who in November voted with Democrats to strip ESAs from a school-funding bill: Allison, Ernest Bailes of Shepherd, DeWayne Burns of Cleburne, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, Drew Darby of San Angelo, Hugh Shine of Temple and VanDeaver.
Also emerging as a North Texas donor in the ongoing fight over vouchers is Joe Popolo, chief executive of Dallas-based Charles & Potomac Capital, a private investment firm. Last week, Popolo, who gave $125,000 to FECPAC, posted on social media about a new national poll by the DeVos-backed American Federation for Children. It showed wide support for school choice.
“Politicians should listen to their voters! @TXlege,” he wrote.
Popolo, who formerly ran Farmers Branch-based Freeman Co., a live events firm, gave $50,000 to AFC Victory Fund.
Rockwall GOP Rep. Justin Holland, whose district includes part of southern Collin County, voted against ESAs.
Holland, a Phelan lieutenant, raised $407,000 in the last half of 2023 and had a cash balance of about $288,000.
Challengers Katrina Pierson, a former tea party activist who served as a national campaign spokeswoman for former President Trump, raised just $48,000 and had about $22,000 in cash; and Dennis London, a California transplant who lives in Rockwall, raised $37,000. London entered the year with a balance of about $21,000.
Rottinghaus, though, said it’s dangerous to read too much into the early fundraising tallies.
“There is a lot of soft ground to traverse in these primaries so, with two months until the election, much can happen,” he said.
Paxton’s pull
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is campaigning against numerous Republican incumbents in the House who voted for his impeachment in May.
While the powerful Republican has endorsed several challengers, Paxton’s support has not translated to a cash windfall.
With few exceptions, the targeted incumbents outraised Paxton-backed opponents and maintained significantly more cash than the attorney general’s preferred candidates, according to the new campaign finance reports.
Those included four of the five Republican incumbents in Paxton’s backyard of Collin County.
For instance, Allen Rep. Jeff Leach, once a close ally who argued forcefully for Paxton’s removal from office, had more than $500,000 in his campaign war chest at the end of 2023. His challenger, Allen City Council member Daren Meis, had about $57,000, Ethics Commission records show.
McKinney Rep. Frederick Frazier’s campaign finance report showed he had slightly more cash than his Paxton-backed challenger, Keresa Richards of McKinney. However, Richards raised more money in the last half of 2023.
Frazier’s reelection campaign has been dealing with controversy after he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of attempting to impersonate a public servant and was dishonorably discharged from the Dallas Police Department.
Phelan, who has been speaker since 2021, contributed to many of the incumbents Paxton wants tossed from the House. Phelan, R-Beaumont, is also facing a Paxton-backed challenger in David Covey.
Phelan dwarfed his opponent’s campaign cash with more than $5.3 million, compared with Covey’s $23,674.
Paxton’s finance report shows his campaign did not donate directly to his preferred House candidates in the last six months of 2023, though he has been on the campaign trail for some, including at an event Tuesday in Rockwall for Pierson, one of the challengers to Holland.
In Dallas-area state Senate races, the finance reports showed Dallas Democratic Sen. Nathan Johnson had a significant advantage over his primary opponent, state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, D-Dallas. Johnson had more than $820,000 in cash on hand, compared with Neave Criado’s $58,268.
Meanwhile, Republican Senate hopeful Brent Hagenbuch loaned his campaign more than $1 million, giving him far more spending cash than the three other Republicans in the race.
Controversy costs PAC
The reports showed Defend Texas Liberty, a conservative political action committee, all but ceased action in the aftermath of a Texas Tribune report that revealed its former head met with an avowed neo-Nazi for hours in October.
The organization received less than $2,000 in small donations and received no cash from oil magnates Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks, whose big spending previously made the organization a major player in Republican politics.
The political action committee made only three contributions to candidates since the Tribune report.
It gave $10,000 to Republican Brent Money, who is running in a special election to replace former Rep. Bryan Slaton. Slaton was also backed by Defend Texas Liberty but was expelled from the House after an investigation found he gave alcohol to a 19-year-old staff member before having sex with her.
Defend Texas Liberty also gave $10,000 to Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, and $5,000 to Edgewood Republican Sen. Bob Hall. The organization did not return a message seeking comment.
Traitor Trump is not the only threat to this country.
Dangerous extremist billionaires, all on the far right, are also a threat, thanks to Citizens United. Yes, there are a few extremist billionaires on the left, but they are not a danger to our Constitutional Republic and democracy like the far right is.
Agree with you, Lloyd. Makes my stomach turn. But then, I am sure that’s the objective for these Anti-Democratic rich fascists.
Totally agree with you, Lloyd.
So sick!
I am convinced that the decline in democracy is tied not only to big money, but also to charters and vouchers, which big money loves.
Yvonne,
You are correct. Reform Austin posted, “Koch-funded astroturf campaign for vouchers hit Texas” (3-29-2023).
The group identified was Young Americans for Liberty. The Make Liberty Win PAC is an offshoot of YAL. Last week, one of MLW PAC-endorsed candidates in Maine pled guilty to assaults that occurred on Jan. 6.
The Executive Director of MLW PAC, Austin Texas, signed the Frankfurt Declaration of Christian and Civil Liberties. The declaration says God is the sovereign lawmaker and judge. The declaration establishes blasphemy to democracy by denying the “modern state’s” right to determine policies and rules related to morality and ethics which opens the door for Koch’s minions to govern.
The President of the Koch’s Heritage Foundation was formerly the President of Wyoming Catholic College.
When Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ran for Congress, she wasn’t attacking Representative Joe Crowley. She was just running for office with a grassroots campaign, something that was good for, and deeply needed by the Democratic Party (which I’m about to officially rejoin after some time off as an independent).
What Yass and Abbott are doing, however, is different. They are attacking Republicans. They are attacking their fellow Republicans out of greed and spite, attempting to make Republican office holders less appealing to the general public. That is not good for the Republican Party. It’s good to see narrow minded, shortsighted them shooting themselves in the foot. In the long run, Republicans are doomed.
The GOP is now the property of Trump. Sad. We need a two-party system where people can choose between responsible alternatives.
My opinion-
Koch’s days are numbered (he’s old). He wants to take the country down with him by getting Trump in office. Koch’s
support for Haley was intended to narrow the field for trump, getting rid of real contenders, Christie, Asa Hutchinson, Burgum, etc. Koch knows the base won’t support Haley.
I don’t see any reason to believe anything the Koch network says. Money spent by Koch on Haley’s campaign is chump change for him.
The head of the Koch Foundation was formerly the president of Wyoming Catholic College. I can’t picture his ideology in Haley’s camp.
Seems Yass is also paying off WordPress to put my comments in moderation.
That’s Critical Race Theory doing that. CRT, the Marxists, George Soros, and WordPress are all in cahoots.
While distracting voters with the Voucher bankrolling by rich right wingers from inside & outside Texas. The Masters of the Universe engineered a new TEA Schools Rating System that plays right into their Master Voucher Plan.
10/23 a Travis County judge blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing the 2022-2023 annual school ratings. After finding that the state’s new rating system is “unlawful and would harm districts across the state.”
But now Houston’s Mike Miles is using that ratings scam to force campuses into his Takeover Reform Model. Miles is adding up to 40 more schools to his New Education System model in the 2024 academic school year.
The Miles 1/23 announcement came after the HISD district released its 2022-2023 annual school ratings.
The data, which is usually released at the start of every new school year, was delayed due to the ongoing Texas Education Agency (TEA) lawsuit.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/01/23/hisd-adding-up-to-40-failing-schools-to-new-education-system-next-year/
Two GOP candidates running against each other in Texas, both deplorable-
incumbent Lacey Hull (voucher supporter) and Jared Woodfill (anti-LGBTQ activist and right wing “Christian”).
Abbott backed Hull who voted to impeach Paxton and Paxton backs Woodfill who supports him.
A southern Baptist scandal involving Paul Pressler has embroiled his former law partner, Woodfill. The scandal is predictable in subject matter and described by Texas Tribune.
Speaking of Texas… Houston’s Rice University-
The university’s history is one of racial discrimination. Until 1963, Black students were denied admission (at Wash. D.C.’s Georgetown, it was 1953
before Black students were admitted).
Unusual for its time (1912), women were admitted to Rice, however, they weren’t allowed to live on campus until 1957.
Mr. Rice, whose bequeath was used to found the school as tuition-free, was murdered by his lawyer who wanted the inheritance for himself.
The Texas Tribune posted about the 2022 lawsuit involving Rice, Notre Dame, Georgetown,…The allegation is collusion to disadvantage financial aid students. Rice settled recently for $33.5 mil.
Private, elite universities, predictable?
Georgetown admitted its first women students in 1969 and Notre Dame in 1972
Christianity Today posted Jan. 23. 2024 about Paul Pressler, a prominent politician in Texas and former jurist in a circuit court of appeals. The allegations about sexual misconduct with underage boys and settlements
are the focus.
Pressler was President of the Council for National Policy. He is credited, along with Mr. Paige Patterson with the Southern Baptist Convention Resurgence. One outcome of the Resurgence was the prohibition of women in the ministry. Allegations about what Patterson and Pressler’s law partner, Jared Woodfill (currently running for a Texas house seat), knew have been covered recently by both Christianity Today and The Texas Tribune.
Of course, all three are Republican. Paul Pressler, the third, attended Princeton.