The Democratic candidate for House District 118 in San Antonio is heavily advocating for public schools and against school vouchers, hoping those issues will help her to flip the district.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Carranza is focusing her campaign on public schools, in a race that could decide the fate of Gov. Greg Abbott’s voucher proposal. Abbott managed to oust republicans who voted against the measure, and has said that he now has the numbers to pass vouchers, however, his majority is still fragile. If Democrats manage to flip a few districts, they could block vouchers.
HD 118 incumbent, Rep. John Lujan, on the other hand, has expressed that vouchers are not the most important issue for voters. He has focused primarily on border security and immigration, followed by abortion and the economy.
“Not one person said that their top issue is stopping or starting school choice,” Craig Murphy, Lujan’s campaign consultant, said. However, he still thinks vouchers are important.
Despite this, Carranza sees an opportunity in the many school districts that have faced financial problems, forcing them to shut campuses and raise taxes. Some trustees have expressed disappointment with Lujan’s lack of involvement in public education.
Norma Cavazos, a trustee at Harlandale ISD, for example, said Lujan never attended board meetings to explain the state’s funding position when the district had to close four elementary schools due to a $12 million deficit.
“He didn’t show up when we had meetings that were very, very very hard to handle,” Cavazos said. “You should have been first in line when the community was angry and breathing down our neck about shutting down schools.”
Carranza, like Cavazos, argued that vouchers would further defund public schools.
“Some vouchers are seen as a good thing in some areas in some states, some people fight for them,” said Esmeraldo Campos, a Harlandale ISD parent. “But for us in our district, it affects us. It takes away money from our district. It takes children away from our district.”
HD 118 was heavily Democratic, but when it was redrawn by Republicans in the 2021 redistricting process, it favored Lujan, a Republican for the House seat. However, in 2020, the district favored Joe Biden and in 2022 Beto O’Rourke, and because of this, Democrats are hopeful they can flip the district.
“I want to be very clear: The fight in 118 is about defending public education,” Carranza said in a campaign event. “This is our seat to take back.”
