The conservative attack on Texas House Speakerย Dade Phelanย is getting reinforcements from a high-profile national group that typically focuses on congressional races.
Club For Growth, a political action committee that raises money for hard-right federal candidates, on Tuesday announced it had spent $4 million on a TV ad targeting five Texas House Republican incumbents facing runoffs.
The group will air aย 30-second spotย that calls Phelan โunwaveringly liberalโ and a โDemocrat in disguise.โ It also takes aim at Reps.ย Gary Vandeaverย of New Boston,ย Justin Hollandย of Rockwall,ย John Kuempelย of Sequin andย DeWayne Burnsย of Cleburne, who all voted against school vouchers.
โFrom failing to support school choice to allowing radical liberal Democrats to chair committees, Speaker Phelan is a certified RINO with a long record, and he will be held accountable by the voters in the runoff,โ said David McIntosh, president of Club for Growthโs Super PAC.
Club for Growthโs focus has traditionally been focused on congressional races. The group is a major supporter of Sen.ย Ted Cruz, and has committed to spending $10 million in his reelection race against U.S. Rep.ย Colin Allred.
But in March, Club for Growth announced it had jointly raised eight figures, along with Gov.ย Greg Abbottย and AFC Victory Fund to get involved in state House runoffs over school vouchers, which would allow public dollars to follow Texas students to private and religious schools.
โYou can no longer consider yourself a conservative if you oppose school freedom,โ McIntosh said at the time. โWe are proud that AFC Victory Fund and Governor Abbottโs team are allies in our united goal to win these runoffs in Texas and remove these so-called โrepublicansโ from office.โ
Over two regular legislative sessions, the House under Phelan has passed some of the most conservative legislation in the chamberโs history, including allowing permitless carry of handguns and a near-total ban on abortion. Phelan has come under particular criticism from many within his party for the Houseโs failure last year to approve a school voucher bill favored by Abbott.
Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, a school voucher supporter whoย contributed $6 millionย to Abbottโs campaign in December, is also a major donor to Club For Growth. Kuempel, VanDeaver, Holland and Burns all were among 21 Republicans who killed the governorโs voucher billย in November.
Abbott vowed revenge on the group and so far has gotten a taste. During the first round of primary voting last month, six anti-voucher Republicans who sought reelection lost outright.
Phelan told The Texas Tribuneย in Januaryย that he would have preferred a voucher bill to pass the House. But that admission was not enough to save him from a runoff, where many voters in his district were also upset that heย supported the impeachmentย of Attorney Generalย Ken Paxton.
This article was written by ZACH DESPART of The Texas Tribune. This article originally appeared at :https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/03/club-for-growth-texas-house-legislature/