TEXAS, USA — After the results of Super Tuesday, school vouchers are no doubt much closer to becoming reality in Texas, now that many anti-voucher lawmakers lost their election or are locked in runoffs.
State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Allen, who supports school choice and who just won re-election, says he fully expects the issue to pass during the next legislative session in January.
“Anyone who isn’t willing to admit that has their head buried in the sand,” Leach told us on Inside Texas Politics. “What happened last night in the election is a resounding victory for school choice, for parental choice. I think that if the Legislature, if legislators, are responsive to their voters, specifically to their Republican primary voters, we’re going to come into next session and finally deliver on school choice.”
As for Leach’s re-election in HD 67, it wasn’t supposed to be that easy.
He made Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s revenge list after voting to impeach Paxton.
But with Gov. Greg Abbott's backing because of his support for school vouchers, Rep. Leach easily won re-election, defeating former Allen City Council member Daren Meis with more than 65% of the vote.
“If other Republicans across the state lost their re-elections or are headed to runoffs because they haven’t kept their promises or haven’t actually governed like Republicans, then I’ll let them speak to that,” said Leach.
Rep. Leach is chair of the Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee and a part of House Speaker Dade Phelan’s leadership team.
But the Speaker is one of the Republicans headed to a runoff after the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and even a former president endorsed his primary challenger.
“You had the lieutenant governor who actively campaigned, first time in my lifetime, in my legislative history, I think maybe in Texas history, where a sitting lieutenant governor has actively campaigned against the speaker of the house. You had President Trump come in,” he said.
Rep. Leach says he’s still a proud supporter of Phelan's and would help him campaign for his runoff election, which will be held May 28.
Leach will face Democrat Makala Washington in the general election November 5.
Other headlines: