Just ask State Rep. Jody Barrett

A Tennessee Republican who stood up for public education in the state legislature paid the price, as a conservative political action group backing Matt Van Epps attacked him with millions of dollars in advertising.

NewsChannel5 reports:

Barrett was attacked because he voted against Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act – also called vouchers.

State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) ran for the open congressional seat in Tennessee’s recent special election, but he finished second to Matt Van Epps in the Republican primary.

After the primary, the head of the conservative PAC, Club for Growth, took credit for Barrett’s loss and called it a warning to other candidates.

After the primary, the head of Club for Growth wrote, “I made it clear that any republican lawmaker who failed to support Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Act … should expect to lose an expensive primary funded by Club for Growth.”

Lee’s so-called “Education Freedom Act” essentially provides discount coupons to private schools for use by wealthy families.

The plan is now in court, as a group of Tennessee parents is saying the voucher scheme threatens funding for local public schools.

On a related note, a new dark money group with ties to the state’s top Republicans has formed and announced plans to push for a rapid expansion of the voucher scheme – costing the state billions and taking nearly 500,000 students out of public schools.

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