As pro-school voucher group purchases $1M in TV ads, Tennessee’s GOP primaries to decide its future

That's a no for me. Audience members make the feelings clear about Gov. Bill Lee's school voucher plan. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Two years ago, Maryville Republican Bryan Richey pulled off a major upset, taking down a seven-term incumbent while raising a fraction of the money his opponent did.

The seemingly grassroots campaign was anything but, as groups supporting school vouchers and charters boosted Richey with over $140,000 in independent advertisements.

The investment in Richey didn’t pay off, as he opposed Gov. Bill Lee’s plan this year to allow anyone to access a $7,200 public voucher to attend a private school. His opposition and the plan’s failure have led another voucher group to make Richey one of its five targets as part of a seven-figure TV advertisement campaign.

The School Freedom Fund, a pro-voucher group tied to Club for Growth and New York-based investment billionaire Jeff Yass, announced they planned to spend a significant amount of money to defeat Richey and Sen. Frank Niceley, a Strawberry Plains Republican, in their Republican primaries and support Republicans Jason Emert in Maryville, Lee Reeves in Franklin and Aron Maberry in Clarksville.

Richey, who’s no longer running for the state House seat and picked up papers to run for a state Senate seat in Maryville, told the Lookout he is no longer campaigning, although he hasn’t suspended his election run.

“They needed somebody’s head on a platter,” Richey said. “That way, when the bill comes back next time, they can say, ‘Look what we did.’ That way, they can get some fear out of it.”

The group has purchased around $675,000 worth of TV ad time in markets for Maryville and Strawberry Plains and another $375,000 in the Clarksville and Franklin areas until election day, according to the Federal Communications Commission’s public files.

If we allow out-of-state, dark political action committee money to come in here and label the most conservative senator as a liberal, no need to have elections anymore.

– Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains

The money comes after Lee and Americans for Prosperity went all-in on a plan to get a universal school voucher program passed during the 2024 legislative session earlier this year.

Tennessee already has school voucher programs in the Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga areas but rural Republican lawmakers have blocked its expansion elsewhere, playing a crucial role in stopping its adoption in 2024.

“We’re one of the lowest-tax states in the nation because we don’t waste money,” Niceley said. “It’s because we don’t throw money at every little hare-brained idea that pops up.”

Niceley, who served 12 years in the state House before winning election to the Senate in 2013, added that it seemed like Lee “called in” the voucher groups, but it likely only boosted his campaign.

“If we allow out-of-state, dark political action committee money to come in here and label the most conservative senator as a liberal, no need to have elections anymore,” Niceley said. “Just call up and ask ’em who they want.”

Playbook from Texas comes to Tennessee

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, political action committee no-limit independent spending has become commonplace across the political spectrum.

The $27.1 million clash between education reform and public school advocates

A group in Tennessee called The Best of Tennessee, calling itself bipartisan, uses this model to keep its donors hidden. It’s spending $120,000 to back Metro Nashville Councilmember Courtney Johnson in the Republican primary to defeat 5th District U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Columbia.

The School Freedom Fund ran a similar political operation to the one in Tennessee during the Texas legislative primaries early this year to defeat several anti-voucher incumbent Republicans.

Supporting charters and vouchers has become big business in Tennessee since the introduction of Tennesseans for Student Success, TennesseeCan, and the Tennessee Federation for Children during the 2016 election.

Many of Lee’s current and former staffers worked for these groups during that election before joining his campaign in 2018 and administration.

All three groups have played significant roles in deciding Republican primaries, making sure the most pro-charter school candidate wins. But for vouchers the groups are more split, allowing Americans for Prosperity and School Freedom Fund to take the driver’s seat, spending reports show.

Vanderbilt political science professor John Geer said there is an apparent concern that Lee “can’t get the voucher bill through” next year without a change in membership.

Geer added despite holding supermajorities in the state House and Senate, Tennessee is not as conservative on some education issues as its leaders, and some state lawmakers that oppose vouchers reflect that.

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The post As pro-school voucher group purchases $1M in TV ads, Tennessee’s GOP primaries to decide its future appeared first on Tennessee Lookout .