Democrats are trying to unseat first-term Republican state Rep. Janie Lopez in the battleground Texas 37th Congressional District by attacking her support for school vouchers.
Jonathan Gracia, an attorney and former Cameron County Magistrate Judge, is seeking to oust Lopez, saying he supports increased funding for public schools and opposes voucher programs.
According to the Texas Tribune, Lopez supported Gov. Greg Abbott’s school voucher proposal but said he would choose a more limited program that prioritizes low-income families and students with disabilities, while Gracia strongly opposes the voucher program, arguing it would divert badly needed funds from already underfunded public schools in many parts of the state.
Both candidates have a strong interest in public education — Lopez is a school counselor and has served on the district’s school board, while Gracia is married to a public school teacher — and Gracia has accused Lopez of supporting vouchers despite his background in education.
“You’d think that person would understand the struggle,” Gracia said, “and maybe they do, but they don’t care. It’s not good enough for South Texas.”
Prime Minister Abbott has refused to increase funding for public schools by not passing the voucher proposal.
“They have this funding, but they just don’t want to spend it the right way,” Gracia said. “Before we even consider expanding who receives the public education budget, we need to make sure the funding we currently have is working. And that’s the real tragedy of all of this.”
The outcome of this election could determine the future of vouchers in the next Congress. Abbott, who fought Republicans who opposed vouchers and lost many of their seats, said he had enough seats to pass vouchers in the next Congress. But he holds a small seat that he could lose in the next election.
The district, which includes parts of Cameron and Willacy counties, is one of the rare battleground states in Texas, and while Republicans have made gains in the area in the 2022 election, Democrats like Gracia see an opportunity to make a comeback.
