Governor Abbott's School Voucher Plan Sparks Republican Civil War in Texas: A Battle for Education and Power

Unique Points

• The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.
• Gov. Greg Abbott helped knock off seven incumbents in the Republican primary in March and is targeting a handful more contests at the end of the month by handpicking conservative challengers and collecting millions of dollars from donors in Texas and beyond.
• Abbott’s targeting of former allies has escalated a Republican civil war that is defining Texas politics today, all in pursuit of enacting a voucher law that stands to remake K-12 education in the nation’s second biggest state.

Accuracy

• Gov. Greg Abbott helped knock off seven incumbents in the Republican primary in March and is targeting a handful more contests at the end of the month by handpicking conservative challengers and collecting millions of dollars from donors in Texas and beyond.
• Abbott’s targeting of former allies has escalated a Republican civil war that is defining Texas politics today, all in pursuit of enacting a voucher law that stands to remake K-12 education in the nation’s second biggest state.
• Backed by deep-pocketed conservative figures like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, the school-choice movement has leveraged Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country to pass laws that provide families with lump sums to spend on private school tuition.
• Ten states passed or expanded school-choice laws in 2023 alone. There are now 18 states that have education savings accounts, which allow parents to spend state funding on a variety of choices including private schools. Students are flocking to these programs, yet data shows that the majority of scholarships or vouchers are going to wealthier families already enrolled in private schools rather than students leaving their traditional public schools.
• Despite all the momentum across the country, voucher bills have repeatedly failed in Texas.

Deception (30%)

• Despite all the momentum across the country, voucher bills have repeatedly failed in Texas.
• Abbott’s targeting of former allies has escalated a Republican civil war that is defining Texas politics today, all in pursuit of enacting a voucher law that stands to remake K-12 education in the nation’s second biggest state.
• Backed by deep-pocketed conservative figures like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, the school-choice movement has leveraged Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country to pass laws that provide families with lump sums to spend on private school tuition.
• The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.

Fallacies (85%)

• The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.
• Backed by deep-pocketed conservative figures like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, the school-choice movement has leveraged Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country to pass laws that provide families with lump sums to spend on private school tuition.
• Republicans, many from rural areas, who have long been opposed to vouchers over concerns that it would jeopardize public education funding, banded with Democrats for an unlikely alliance that proved to be a thorn in Abbott’s side.

Bias (80%)

• Backed by deep-pocketed conservative figures like former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Republican megadonor Jeff Yass, the school-choice movement has leveraged Republican majorities in state legislatures across the country to pass laws that provide families with lump sums to spend on private school tuition.
• The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.
• The negative attacks on anti-voucher Republicans financed by PACs have gone beyond school-choice and targeted the incumbents for lacking conservative bona fides on issues like guns and the border – often in false or misleading mailers, texts and advertisements.

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Unique Points

• Governor Greg Abbott of Texas is looking to enact a statewide system of education savings accounts (ESAs) in Texas.
• Four Republican incumbents in the Texas House are being targeted by Governor Abbott for blocking his attempts to create ESAs.
• If these incumbents lose their elections on May 28, 2023, the ESAs plan may be enacted and Texas could become the biggest school choice marketplace in the country by 2025.

Accuracy

• If these incumbents lose their elections on May 28, 2023, the ESAs plan may be enacted and Texas could become the biggest school choice marketplace in the country by 2025.
• Ten states passed or expanded school-choice laws in 2023 alone. There are now 18 states that have education savings accounts, which allow parents to spend state funding on a variety of choices including private schools. Students are flocking to these programs, yet data shows that the majority of scholarships or vouchers are going to wealthier families already enrolled in private schools rather than students leaving their traditional public schools.
• Abbott has major money on his side. Among the constellation of PACs and donations from wealthy political players dumping money into Texas elections this year, there’s Pennsylvania billionaire Yass. A major school-choice supporter, Yass personally cut a check to Abbott for $6 million last year, which the governor called the largest single donation in Texas history. Yass has also given to PACs backing pro-voucher candidates, like the School Freedom Fund, which is affiliated with the Club for Growth and has run multi-million-dollar TV blitzes.

Deception (30%)

• But national donors and advocacy groups have also taken a close interest in the electoral fight, funding the GOP insurgents to the tune of millions of dollars in the hopes of extending a generational winning streak for school choice that has unfolded over the past few years.
• We are also hopeful that this will push school freedom allies in other states to reform failing public schools, and we are looking at replicating these efforts in other states.
• If the incumbents fall, many believe the plan will be enacted, turning Texas into the country’s biggest school choice marketplace as soon as 2025.
• This election will send a clear message to Republicans in every state that you should retire or expect to lose in your next primary.
• ESAs provide state funds for families to use for educational expenses like private school tuition.

Fallacies (85%)

• The success of voucher rollouts in other red states presented something of a ‘street cred issue’ for Abbott, one of the most prominent conservative leaders in the country.
• But national donors and advocacy groups have also taken a close interest in the electoral fight, funding the GOP insurgents to the tune of millions of dollars in the hopes of extending a generational winning streak for school choice that has unfolded over the past few years.
• The organization might look for similar opportunities in places like Georgia and Tennessee.
• This election will send a clear message to Republicans in every state that you should retire or expect to lose in your next primary.

Bias (80%)

• He was joined in his endorsements by high-profile allies like Sen. Ted Cruz
• If the incumbents fall, many believe the plan will be enacted
• It remains to be seen whether the same recipe will unseat the four additional incumbents fighting runoff battles this month.
• The organization might look for similar opportunities in places like Georgia and Tennessee.

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Unique Points

• Governor Greg Abbott visited Republican representative DeWayne Burns' district twice this year, contrary to his previous lack of visits.

Accuracy

• ][Article.facts[0]] Governor Greg Abbott visited Republican representative DeWayne Burns' district twice this year, contrary to his previous lack of visits.[/]
• [OtherArticles[0].facts[1]] The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.[
• [Article.facts[2]] Helen Kerwin, Burns’ primary challenger, has gained support from former president Donald Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and Attorney General Ken Paxton.[
• [OtherArticles[0].facts[3]] Abbott’s targeting of former allies has escalated a Republican civil war that is defining Texas politics today, all in pursuit of enacting a voucher law that stands to remake K-12 education in the nation’s second biggest state.[
• [Article.facts[4]] Critics have portrayed DeWayne Burns as a liberal due to his support for a children’s mental health bill, even though he voted for an amendment that would have blocked funds supporting transgender children.[
• [OtherArticles[1].facts[2]] Ten states passed or expanded school-choice laws in 2023 alone. There are now 18 states that have education savings accounts, which allow parents to spend state funding on a variety of choices including private schools. Students are flocking to these programs, yet data shows that the majority of scholarships or vouchers are going to wealthier families already enrolled in private schools rather than students leaving their traditional public schools.[
• [Article.facts[5]] Steve Allison, John Kuempel, Hugh Shine, Gary VanDeaver and 11 other Republicans also faced or will face Abbott-backed primary opponents this spring.[

Deception (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Fallacies (85%)

• . . . Abbott has dropped in twice (with another visit planned this week), to campaign for Burns’ primary challenger, Helen Kerwin.
• One showed his head photoshopped onto the body of a man wearing a ‘Don’t mess with Trans kids’ T-shirt. The ad is a reference to Burns’ support for a children’s mental health bill.
• If the logic of the ad seems twisted, that’s because there’s no other way to portray DeWayne Burns as a liberal.

Bias (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)

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Unique Points

• Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is facing a runoff election against Republican challenger David Covey on May 28, 2024.
• Phelan was censured by his party in February for voting for Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment.
• University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus sees the race as a microcosm of the larger battle within the Texas Republican party between moderates and socially- and culturally-minded fringe members.

Accuracy

• The enormous amount of money pouring into Texas Republican primaries from national pro-school-choice groups sets a new precedent as national interests become increasingly intertwined in state legislatures.
• Ten states passed or expanded school-choice laws in 2023 alone.
• Texas is just one state where the groups are getting involved.

Deception (30%)

• Dade Phelan boasts any progress in the Texas House as his accomplishment, when in fact, all progress on border security has been made in spite of him.
• The Covey campaign has lied with its words, it has lied through doctored videos, and now it is lying with a Deep Fake photograph designed to trick voters into thinking that I am best friends with Nancy Pelosi.
• The maxim can also serve as a warning: several now-disputed reports claim that a herd of elephants returned to trample a woman’s corpse the same day she died by elephant stomping, implying the attacks were born of personal animus.
• Phelan called the image a ‘deep fake’, referring to AI-generated images and videos currently under scrutiny for their roles in perpetuating misinformation and enabling nonconsensual pornography.
• Such pettiness is uncommon in the animal kingdom but not unheard of in the political realm, proven by the contentious runoff primary between much-maligned Republican Texas House speaker Rep. Dade Phelan and his far-right challenger David Covey.

Fallacies (85%)

• The maxim can also serve as a warning: several now-disputed reports claim that a herd of elephants returned to trample a woman’s corpse the same day she died by elephant stomping, implying the attacks were born of personal animus. Such pettiness is uncommon in the animal kingdom but not unheard of in the political realm, proven by the contentious runoff primary between much-maligned Republican Texas House speaker Rep. Dade Phelan and his far-right challenger David Covey.
• We are not used to seeing Texas House speakers imperiled in their own districts.
• The race has also attracted an unusual level of financial interest, particularly for a local election. According to one report, Phelan and Covey’s runoff election has become the most expensive State House race in history, amassing $2.6 million in spending and reservations.

Bias (80%)

• far-right challenger
• MAGA devotees
• painted Phelan as a party traitor, a flaccid moderate, and even a secret Democrat.
• relatively moderate establishment

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