San Antonio GOP Rep. Steve Allison Endorses Democrat In Fight Over Public Education

Republican state Rep. Steve Allison announced on Monday he endorsed Democrat candidate Laurel Swift in the race for his own district (HD 121) after Gov. Greg Abbott worked to oust him.

Allison was defeated in March’s GOP primary by Marc LaHood. The incumbent was targeted by Abbott for refusing to support the governor’s school voucher proposal arguing it would further defund public schools. He said he believes Swift will keep fighting for public education in the district.

“I’m supporting and voting for [Swift] as the better and more qualified candidate and encouraging others to do the same,” Allison told the Quorum Report.

Allison previously joined Swift and other Democrats in San Antonio for a public education forum, where he first expressed his alignment with Swift.

“We can’t lose sight of the big picture… we’ve got to protect public education,” Allison said. “The governor thinks he has the votes [on vouchers]… and this election is one of those key three to five [seats] to flip that’s going to make all the difference in the world.”

Allison is a former Alamo Heights ISD board president and is one of the 21 House Republicans who voted against Abbott’s voucher proposal. The Governor received money from out-of-state billionaires to oust these republicans in the primaires. Despite this, Allison said he doesn’t regret voting against vouchers.

“I was one of the 21 Republicans that voted against the voucher provision, and I paid for it,” he said. “I think that’s OK. I think we’ve got to take a stand for what’s right.”

According to the San Antonio Current former state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, a Republican, also endorsed Swift.

“I’m grateful to have Jeff and Steve in my corner and our team is working hard as ever to earn every vote over the next two weeks,” Swift said. “Public education is at stake and HD-121 deserves common sense leadership, and you can guarantee that’s how I’ll lead in our state legislature.”

The Current also reported that Allison is the latest from a series of Republicans breaking ranks with Abbott in recent months.

State Rep. Matt Shaffer, for example, said during a House Committee on Public Education hearing in August that school vouchers could have a negative impact on rural students.

“If you’re going to create a choice program, don’t make one that just primarily benefits urban areas out of the state,” Schafer said at the time. “‘All’ means ‘all’ when it comes to these students, and I think y’all need to come up with a way to allow those public schools to help customize the education of students they’re already serving.”

More recently, a group of Republicans challenged Abbott’s authority last week by delaying the execution of Robert Roberson, a death row inmate they argued was wrongly sentenced to death.