Phelan Touts Teachers Union Endorsement

With early voting underway in Texas’ March 1 primary elections, Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan is touting the endorsement of a state teachers union that gave most of its backing to Democrats.

Phelan is one of 26 Republican state lawmakers endorsed by the Texas State Teachers Association in 2022.

The labor and lobbying group for teachers endorsed 66 Democrat candidates for state Legislature this year, and overall backs Democrats over Republicans by a 3-1 margin.

TSTA describes itself as “the most powerful education association in Texas and the nation,” with more than 68,000 members. It’s an affiliate of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.

Last week, Phelan touted TSTA’s endorsement in a series of tweets, describing millions of dollars in spending for teachers he helped push through the Republican-run Legislature.

Phelan doesn’t need the endorsement, though. He’s running unopposed in both the primary and general elections.

Phelan took no action on the Texas GOP’s top education-related legislative priority for 2021, school choice.

TSTA endorsed 107 candidates for 2022: 79 Democrats and 28 Republicans.

The teachers union exclusively endorsed Democrats for congressional and state Senate seats, and backed twice as many Democrats (56) as Republicans (26) for state House.

The vast majority of TSTA and NEA political contributions go to Democrats.

Early voting continues through February 25. Primary Election Day is March 1.

Erin Anderson

Erin Anderson is a Senior Journalist for Texas Scorecard, reporting on state and local issues, events, and government actions that impact people in communities throughout Texas and the DFW Metroplex. A native Texan, Erin grew up in the Houston area and now lives in Collin County.