Gary VanDeaver’s career has revolved around public education for more than 30 years, from his first teaching job — high school vocational agriculture — to his current role leading the Texas House committee that oversees education funding. His fidelity to public education could now be his undoing as a lawmaker, driven by the five-term Republican’s stubborn resistance to private school vouchers.
Disastrous’: A shaken Texas House prepares for rightward shift after record GOP primary upsets VanDeaver is one of several GOP House incumbents who have been pushed into runoff elections after a wave of spending from Gov. Greg Abbott and pro-voucher groups. In his case, Abbott and the American Federation for Children spent nearly $600,000 to promote primary challenger Chris Spencer, who has called school vouchers “the civil rights issue of our time.
state Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, wrote on social media. VanDeaver said the shift to the right “in what is already one of the most conservative legislatures in the U.S.” could backfire by deterring Democratic support for constitutional amendments, which require two-thirds support in both chambers.