Gov. Greg Abbott and pro-school choice organizations are celebrating the results of the May 28 Republican primary runoffs.
Abbott, who made school choice a top focus in the elections, declared Tuesday on X that “the Texas legislature now has enough votes to pass School Choice.”
“Congratulations to all of tonight’s winners,” he wrote. “Together, we will ensure the best future for our children.”
Overall, Abbott was successful in five out of the 11 runoff races he endorsed. Of those five races, three involved a pro-school choice candidate winning over an anti-school choice candidate.
But Abbott also found success for the school choice agenda in races where his preferred candidate was unsuccessful. Victors Andy Hopper in House District 64, Keresa Richardson in HD 61, David Lowe in HD 91, and AJ Louderback in HD 30 have all come out strongly in favor of school choice.
Club for Growth Action, Club for Growth’s national super PAC, also celebrated key victories in the primary runoffs. The group itself spent nearly $4 million on the primary, while the affiliated School Freedom Fund spent over $4.4 million.
The group was successful in 10 of the 14 races it targeted, including the same three races involving anti-school choice incumbents that Abbott endorsed in.
“The message from these primaries and runoffs should be crystal clear—if you call yourself conservative and oppose school freedom, retire or expect to lose your next primary,” stated Club for Growth Action President David McIntosh.
“The 10 so-called Republicans who failed to support school freedom, learned the hard way that their primary voters will not accept putting leftist bureaucrats above children,” he continued. “This is a big win for parents in Texas and across the country who are tired of paying for failing and overly-politicized schools.”
In addition to Abbott and Club for Growth, the American Federation for Children declared victory in the runoff elections.
On election night, the group reposted a statement from school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the organization, declaring that the election was a “massive victory for families.”
“For the first time in history, we have the votes for school choice in Texas,” emphasized DeAngelis on X. “Texas has about 5.5 million students K-12. That’s more than 10% of all students (50 million) in the United States.
“We picked up 14 votes in the primaries,” he added.
AFC, through its Victory Fund super PAC, has spent a total of $6.45 million on pro-school choice candidates thus far this election cycle, according to Transparency USA.
A school choice package deemed acceptable by Abbott was proposed via an amendment to Texas House Bill 1 of the 88th Legislature’s fourth special session.
However, a group of 21 Republicans sided with Democrats to strip school choice from the measure, thereby killing it in 2023.
Of the 21 Republicans who voted to kill school choice last session, 16 of them decided to run for re-election to the House in 2024. When including the May 28 runoffs, all but seven have lost their bids to return.