Gov. Abbott knocks out Republicans in war for education priorities

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Gary VanDeaver has never had a tough race — until now.

After five terms in the Texas House, he has cemented a conservative record and bolstered Gov. Greg Abbott’s hardline positions on everything from border security to abortion bans and permitless carry of firearms. As such, he’s not used to facing a worthy challenger in his safely-Republican East Texas district. But this year, Abbott’s retribution tour is giving him a scare.

“I have been getting beat up for the last six weeks,” Rep. VanDeaver said. “I’ve had a tremendous amount of outside money coming into my district and all kinds of mail pieces that are just absolutely untrue. The Governor has been in my district three times in the last several weeks.”

VanDeaver is one of the 21 Republicans who opposed Abbott’s push for an education savings accounts — a proposal to use state money to subsidize private school tuition for families wanting to leave public school. That opposition threw him into a runoff against Abbott-backed challenger Chris Spencer.

“The people of House District One obviously support parental choice, and they want a choice in their child’s education,” Spencer told Nexstar. “I think that transcends Republican politics, but suffice it to say that the incumbents that lost are clearly on the wrong side of the issue, as are those that are in a runoff.”

Of the nine incumbents that lost their seats on Tuesday, five of them faced challengers endorsed and funded by Abbott. Those include Representatives Steve Allison, Ernest Bailes, Glenn Rogers, Hugh Shine, and Travis Clardy. Rep. Reggie Smith also lost after opposing vouchers, though did not face a direct challenge from Abbott.

Four more incumbents were thrown into runoffs: Justin Holland, DeWayne Burns, John Kuempel, and Gary VanDeaver.

VanDeaver said the House will shift even further to the right — and he thinks the newcomers agitating for even more conservative change will have problems trying to govern.

“It’s hard to imagine, really,” VanDeaver said of a more conservative House. “I think that’s going to be the problem for some of these (candidates)… because, really, there’s not much left to do. And what is left to do is probably unconstitutional.”

These candidates are bound for an intense — and expensive — nearly three months of campaign overtime.

“We’re playing for keeps, and that campaign is starting today,” Spencer said.

The runoff is set for May 28.