Why America’s only school choice super PAC is putting some Republicans in the hot seat
American Federation for Children (AFC) President Tommy Schultz told Fox News Digital that his organization is fighting to oust anyone who is hostile to school choice ahead of the 2026 midterms.
"We are the only school choice super PAC that's out there. We deployed more than $10 million last year in places like Texas and a dozen other states," Schultz told Fox News Digital. He continued, "There's a lot of just really protecting and cementing all of these massive historic victories that have happened in the last four or five years at the state level."
Schultz told Fox News Digital that the AFC Victory Fund is spending $15 million across 200 races.
The AFC’s Victory Fund, which was established in 2024, is the only single-issue super PAC dedicated to school choice while, on the other hand, pro-school choice super PACs like Club For Growth and Parent Party address several issues in education in general.
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Schultz mentioned that the school choice movement had tremendous success over the years as Republican governors passed universal school choice and the Trump administration instituted a federal tax credit scholarship. Although Democrats are typically defenders of allocating taxpayer money to traditional public schools, Republicans have done so as well, garnering the support of teachers unions.
"Historic victories in places like Texas set the tone to remind every Republican that opposes school choice: you will likely lose your next election," Schultz said. "For instance, at the end of last year, we defeated anti-school choice Republican Jody Barrett in his race for Congress."
Barrett lost a GOP congressional primary in Tennessee to Matt Van Epps last year.
Barrett penned an op-ed in Nov. 2025, calling for conservatives to reject the push for vouchers as a core conservative issue. Barrett opposed Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's private school voucher program for "subsidizing tuition for those who were already paying it" as the program was used mostly by "the wealthiest counties in the state."
"Although the administration has intentionally failed to track where scholarship recipients were previously enrolled, data suggest that roughly 90 percent were already enrolled in private schools," Barrett wrote. "It is possible to support school freedom and oppose a bad bill," he explained further in his piece.
Republicans representing rural districts have often rejected school choice policies such as vouchers or charter schools because schools in rural areas tend to face funding challenges due to low enrollment and scarce resources, as most states restrict parents to schools within their zip code or the school district that presides over their residential area.
Rural Republicans' opposition to school choice policies caused governors in Texas, Iowa, and Tennessee to struggle with passing their universal school choice plans. The governors got involved in their party's primaries to help give the boot to candidates opposing school choice. Concerns include that the money taken away from traditional public schools could be used to boost teachers' salaries, invest in public school facilities and recruit more teachers.
"The 2026 election cycle is about cementing the monumental victories of school choice in the past five years," Schultz said. "We've passed 80 laws in 30 states that have essentially tripled the number of students utilizing a private school choice program out in the states."
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The AFC Victory Fund played an instrumental role in passing Texas’ education savings account programs. The program saw massive success since it was established on Feb. 4, becoming "the largest rollout of a school choice program in the nation," a spokesperson for Abbott’s administration told Fox News Digital.
The success is attributed not only to Abbott, but also the AFC Victory Fund, which backed candidates who advocated for school choice, targeting Republicans that sought to funnel more dollars into public schools and had a history of voting against school choice policies. Now AFC’s Victory Fund is looking at the gubernatorial race in Arizona, where its universal school choice policy is being threatened.
Arizona became the first state to offer universal school choice for all families in 2022, launching an $800 million program that gives parents $7,000 to put toward their children's tuition. Several other states followed, indicating a trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools, while many school districts in America's major cities have bled students since the pandemic.
The Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account program has surpassed the 100,000-participant threshold, according to Center Square earlier this month.
The school choice program launched in 2011, initially only serving students with special needs. When the program became universal in 2022, it only had 12,127 students, according to the report. It has seen a 725% increase in participants considering the current total.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs reportedly wants to shrink the program. Initially, the Democratic governor sought to eliminate the program in general.
"We're going to be playing heavily there," Schultz said.
Hobbs did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.