AUSTIN — The conservative advocacy group Club for Growth launched a statewide TV, print and digital advertising campaign Thursday to pressure lawmakers in the Texas House to support a “school choice” bill that would put taxpayer dollars toward private school education.
The Texas Senate passed its version of the legislation, Senate Bill 2, Wednesday night.
“Now, the onus falls on the Texas State House to pass this legislation without compromise,” David McIntosh, president of Club for Growth, said in a statement. “House lawmakers must unite to pass SB 2 without compromising or reducing its universal nature. School freedom should be for every Texas student, not just some.”
Club for Growth declined to reveal how much it was spending on the campaign, calling it a six-figure effort that could top $1 million, depending on its impact.
The campaign began Thursday with a full-page ad in the Austin American-Statesman encouraging constituents to tell state lawmakers to support Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice plan. Additional ads will run Friday and Sunday, Club for Growth said.
Television ads will begin airing during Sunday national political talk shows in the Dallas, Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Waco markets.
The 30-second spot begins with a narrator praising Texas as No. 1 in oil and gas production, job creation and innovation. Next up?
“Texas must be No. 1 in educating our children,” Abbott says in a clip taken from his State of the State address Sunday. “Parents should be empowered to choose the school that’s best for their child.”
The ad concludes with Abbott saying, “We must pass school choice this session,” as text appears encouraging viewers to phone their legislators.
Wednesday’s passage of SB 2, creating a $1 billion voucher-style program in Texas, marked the sixth time the Senate has passed a school choice bill, only to see the efforts fail in the House under opposition from Democrats and rural Republicans.
All 11 Democratic senators voted against SB 2, saying it could jeopardize spending on public schools and wasn’t fair to rural communities that lack access to private schools.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate, vowed Wednesday senators “will pass school choice over and over again until the House passes this bill.”
The Club for Growth’s digital campaign will feature a grassroots effort to mobilize voters in the districts of 29 Republican state representatives.
Club for Growth Action — the organization’s super PAC — and its allied super PAC School Freedom Fund spent nearly $8.5 million in last year’s primaries to target House Republicans who opposed school choice.
McIntosh said the political action committees are ready to spend more on future primaries.
“If any Republican opposes Gov. Abbott and spurns their constituents,” he wrote in a Texas Scorecard op-ed, “Club for Growth Action and School Freedom Fund are ready to engage.”
