Early political career
Allison has served on the Alamo Heights Independent School District Early Childhood Task Force,and on the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Trustees for 8 years and the last 2 as Vice Chairman. [2]
Allison was elected to represent District 121 in the Texas House of Representatives on November 6,2018 and was sworn in on January 8,2019. [3] [4] Alison ran with the endorsement of the outgoing state representative for the seat,retiring House Speaker Joe Straus. [5]
Voucher vote and 2024 primary defeat
In November 2023,Allison voted against Republican Governor Greg Abbott's proposal for state-funded vouchers for private schools. Allison was one of 21 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to remove Abbott's voucher plan from the education funding bill;the amendment to drop the voucher proposal passed 83–64. [6] After his vote,Allison reported being harassed at his home by pro-school choice activists. [7]
Allion's vote against Abbott's voucher proposal also prompted primary challengers. [7] Primary challenger criminal defense attorney Marc LaHood ran with endorsements from Abbott and other Texas Republicans. [8] Allison was also the target of coordinated efforts by several PACs backed by Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Yass to defeat Republicans who opposed the voucher plan. [7]
Although Allison had a conservative voting record on nearly every issue,LaHood ran to his right,and his primary challenge was boosted by support from Abbott (who spent $672,000 on LaHood's behalf in the final months of the primary campaign). [8] Texas's Republican Agriculture Commissioner,Sid Miller,ran a pro-LaHood ad in which he posed with a rifle and declared that Allison was the target of his "Rino hunt." [9] Allison,meanwhile,was supported by House Speaker Dade Phelan, [8] and ran with the endorsement of the San Antonio Express-News . [10]
In the March 2024 primary,Allison was defeated for renomination:LaHood won with some 54% of the vote;Allison received 34%,and a third candidate,Michael Champion,received 7%. [8] The Express-News editorial board described Allison's loss as an intensification of the removal of "traditional,pragmatic conservative Republicans" by the state party. [11]
