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The candidates in the running for Texas House of Representatives District 121 held dueling rallies on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Democrat Laurel Jordan Swift held a rally at the Brookhollow Library on Heimer Road. Rep. Steve Allison, who endorsed Swift over fellow Republican LaHood as early voting got underway, was in attendance and addressed Swift’s supporters.
“I’m a Republican. So, I don’t take this decision lightly,” said Allison, who this spring blamed his loss to LaHood in the March primary on Abbott’s decision to back his opponent. Allison had previously announced he was against school vouchers.
Swift easily defeated Shekhar Sinha in that party’s March primary.
Swift told the gathered crowd that Democrats must turn three seats in the Texas House blue in order to block Abbott’s controversial voucher program from passing during next year’s legislative session.
The vouchers would make taxpayer money available to Texas families to help offset the cost of paying for private school.
Opponents of the measure have said it will do significant damage to public school districts, many of which already face significant budgets shortfalls.
Former state senator Jeff Wentworth, a Republican, has also thrown his support behind Swift, revealing to rally attendees that the early vote he cast for Swift over the weekend was the first time he had voted for a Democrat for a Texas House seat in his 62 years as a registered voter.
Forty five minutes earlier, before a packed crowd at the Angry Elephant, Abbott said the voucher program is about educational freedom and a refusal to stray away from family values in schools.
After Abbott spoke for about 20 minutes, he introduced LaHood, who said Democrats have been untruthful about the purpose of vouchers.
”But there’s a lie that they’ve been saying. That if we empower parents, give parents the right and the freedom to do what’s best for their children, that it’s at odds with educating all of our children. That’s a lie,” said LaHood.
San Antonio criminal defense attorney Marc LaHood, a Republican, held a rally at The Angry Elephant on U.S. 281 North. Gov. Greg Abbott was in attendance. LaHood used a late surge of support and the backing of Abbott this spring to upset State Rep. Steve Allison in the Republican primary for the Texas House District 121 seat.
The district covers Alamo Heights, Olmos Park and parts of north San Antonio. Before Allison, moderate Republican Joe Straus held the seat for a decade and a half and was a longtime speaker of the Texas House.
What the candidates are saying
“This election cycle is about good, hard-working people taking their power back into their own hands. Texas doesn’t need any more politicians. We need leaders who will revitalize our education system, secure our borders, and continue to build one of the world’s strongest economies,” LaHood told KSAT in a written statement.
“I believe folks in District 121, and across the state, agree on more than we disagree. We want our government officials to work together, across party lines, to solve the issues facing Texas today. That’s how I intend to represent my neighbors in this district,” Swift told KSAT in a written statement.
Campaign finance
LaHood received nearly $360,000 in political contributions from the start of July until late September and had more than $108,000 cash on hand, according to the most recent campaign expenditure report received by the Texas Ethics Commission.
The contributions include more than $50,000 in digital advertising and other in-kind contributions from the Greg Abbott Campaign, state records show.
Swift’s campaign reported receiving more than $378,000 in political contributions from the start of July through late September, according to Texas Ethics Commission records.
Swift had just under $58,000 cash on hand late last month, records show.
Swift’s major contributors included a trade union for public employees and Annie’s List, a Texas-based political action committee that supports progressive women seeking elected office at the state and local levels.
Early voting runs through Nov. 1.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.