Texas governor Greg Abbott now has enough votes in the state house to advance his ambitious school-choice agenda, after six Republican incumbents who were vocally opposed to school vouchers lost their primary runoff elections on Tuesday.

“While we did not win every race we fought in, the overall message from this year’s primaries is clear: Texans want school choice,” Abbott said. “Opponents can no loner ignore the will of the people.”

The hard work of empowering families and uplifting students has only just begun.

The school-choice movement has entered a new phase: defending our victories.

Sharing the stage at the Brazos Christian School gymnasium in Bryan, Rep. John Raney rose from his seat next to Gov. Greg Abbott during a pro-school voucher rally and lavished praise on the governor’s education agenda.

“Gov. Abbott understands the value of a good education and the importance of giving parents control over their children’s education,” Raney said at the March event, adding that the governor “spent nearly every night” helping his daughter do her homework and that the first lady is a former teacher and principal.

Gov. Greg Abbott is keeping lawmakers in suspense about whether he will call yet another special session to try to pass school vouchers as he gets more deeply involved in their primaries, making endorsements that are increasingly bold.

A Peach State lawmaker who angered her Democratic colleagues in the Georgia state House of Representatives over her support for a recent school choice bill is expected to announce that she is officially switching parties.

Mesha Mainor – a Democrat who has represented District 56 in the Georgia state House since January 2021 – will announce shortly before noon Tuesday that she will switch her party registration to Republican.

Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday that he would veto a toned-down version of a bill to offer school vouchers in Texas and threatened to call legislators back for special sessions if they don’t “expand the scope of school choice” this month.

Despite a recent Texas House vote to prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for private education, Gov. Greg Abbott pledged on Tuesday that a Texas school choice initiative would pass “this session.”

“One size does not fit all. No one in government knows better than mom and dad about which education option is the best for their child and that is what we will deliver this session,” said Abbott.