School choice issue in Texas reveals new litmus test for Republicans
Texas has experienced a purging of anti-school choice Republicans from the Texas capitol, revealing a new litmus test for the party.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, who represents Texas' 10th district, told Fox News Digital that he is not aware of any Republicans in the legislature currently opposing school choice and added that Texas has entered a "new paradigm."
"They're probably scared to admit that they oppose education freedom," he said. In 2021, Harrison unseated an incumbent with an anti-school choice platform that represented a rural district.
"I grew up in this area, in Ellis County, which is where my district is. It's a mostly rural district, south of Dallas," Harrison told Fox News Digital.
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As early voting began on Tuesday for the Lone Star State’s March 3 primaries, Harrison is being challenged by Matt Authier and Jon Garrett. Harrison slammed Authier as a "fake Republican" for opposing school choice and claiming in 2023 that he "wishes to destroy public schools under the guise of education freedom." According to Authier's campaign website, he vows to "get more dollars to the classroom."
Rural Republicans have typically rejected school choice policies in the past and have even drawn financial support from teachers unions, although they typically favor Democrats who often vote against school choice policies. Rural Republicans in Texas, along with Democrats, argued that vouchers, or education savings accounts, would negatively impact public school funding.
Authier did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harrison defeated fellow Republican John Wray in a special election runoff in September 2021, unseating a six-year incumbent in the Texas House who he claimed "vehemently opposed school choice."
"When the first Trump administration ended, and I moved back home to my district, I was basically told to avoid the issue of school choice because I was told this district has never been represented by the Texas legislature," Harrison said. "Nobody to my knowledge that's ever held my seat has ever supported school choice."
Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate who closely tracks education policy in the Lone Star State and senior fellow for Americans for Fair Treatment, told Fox News Digital that Texas is now leading the nation in making school choice non-negotiable for conservatives.
"This full purge is a warning to Republicans everywhere: side with the unions, and you'll face the same fate," he said.
Much of it could be attributed to Gov. Greg Abbott, who announced that he would get involved in the party's primaries to help give the boot to any candidates opposing school choice. The governor endorsed and helped raise money for pro-school choice candidates in 2024 after struggling to garner unification among Republicans to support his universal school choice bill.
American Federation for Children President Tommy Schultz played a critical role in donating to pro-school choice candidates to remove anti-school choice candidates from Republican primaries.
There were 21 Republicans who opposed the education savings accounts program that Schultz and Abbott collaborated on in 2023.
"Then in the 2024 cycle, we wiped out a bunch of them. Five of them retired. And also, the last one just announced that he's retiring just a few weeks ago. So what that means is that actually none of the 21 Republicans that voted against this in 2023 will be returning to the legislature in 2027 when they go back into session," Schultz told Fox News Digital.
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Of the 21 Republicans that voted against Abbott's education savings account program in 2023, nine were ousted out of the primaries in the 2024 midterms and six retired.
"Governor Abbott has been clear that parents—not government bureaucrats—should be the primary decision-makers when it comes to their children’s education," Abbott spokesman Eduardo Leal told Fox News Digital.
Leal said that "Texans overwhelmingly supported school choice during the 2024 primary elections."
"Republican voters made it clear that empowering parents is a core conservative principle. With applications for Texas Education Freedom Accounts now open, Governor Abbott encourages all eligible Texas families to apply. Just this last week, more than 85,000 Texas families applied. Under Governor Abbott's leadership, Texas is on track to become the top state in America for educating our kids," Leal said.