Texas governor rails against cross-dressing teachers at San Antonio campaign event

During a San Antonio appearance Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas will have a $20 billion surplus at the end of the current budget cycle, but that money isn't going to health care or public education, both severely underfunded in the state.

Instead, the Republican governor bragged that he'll use some of the funds to support school vouchers, which he said will shield Texas kids from ... ahem ... cross-dressing teachers.

"How would you feel if you knew that the state of Texas was forcing you to send your child to that school with the inability to move to some other school," Abbott said. "That is wrong, absolutely wrong. No parents should be forced to send their child to a school where the school is allowing teachers to be cross-dressers."

Abbott's half-hour speech came during a stop at San Antonio's Angry Elephant bar. The governor was stumping for Texas House District 121 candidate Marc LaHood, who's challenging three-term State Rep. Steve Allison in the GOP primary.

Allison has represented the district — which includes Alamo Heights and a swath of Northeast San Antonio — since 2019, soundly winning reelection against Democrat challenger Becca DeFelice in 2022.

However, the incumbent now faces Abbott's wrath after joining other House Republicans in voting against the governor's school voucher plan during the 2023 legislative session. Abbott is spending $400,000 to campaign against GOP House members who helped derail the plan, which he'd hoped to be his signature legislative accomplishment.

In the end, Abbott and his allies never won over Democrats or rural Republicans, who argued the proposal would drain money from already underfunded school districts so the wealthy can subsidize private educations for their kids. Some GOP moderates, including Allison, also balked.

"I mean, he's a nice guy, no doubt about that, but he's a guy who, when he goes to Austin, Texas, acts like somebody from Austin, Texas," Abbott said of Allison. The jab garnered laughs from the 100-plus people in attendance.

LaHood had little to say during his 30-second speech, other than voicing his support for school choice.

Although vouchers were the word of the day, Abbott devoted no time to talking about how they might affect test scores or educational outcomes. Instead, he said his plan is necessary if parents want to keep their kids from competing against transgender athletes or learning from cross-dressing teachers.

"There's a school district just outside of Dallas where a teacher is showing up, who's a man, and he's showing up as a cross-dresser," Abbott said to gasps from the crowd. "He's dressing as a woman."

Abbott appeared to be referring to an incident at North Texas' Hebron High, where a teacher who's biologically male was caught on video wearing a pink dress and cowboy hat on Valentine's Day. The teacher is on administrative leave while the district investigates, according to media reports.

"As opposed to the kids being able to focus their attention on their studies in class, they're gonna see this man walking around in a dress and high heels," Abbott told the crowd.

Abbott has spent the past 21 months advocating for vouchers despite experts warning that the legislation would likely crater test scores and risk bankrupting the state by funding two separate education systems.

It's unclear until after the March 5 primary whether the governor's effort to primary Republicans who opposed his plan actually sends some home from Austin or simply serves as a drain on their campaign coffers.

Early voting for the primaries opened Tuesday.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed