Next week’s voucher vote and Senate floor show

Next week the full Senate will vote on the latest misguided and politically-motivated iteration of school vouchers (a.k.a., education savings accounts). I will be voting “No.” It will pass anyway. 

There will be a floor show, generally along party lines, where voucher pushers talk about saving kids from failing schools (schools that the voucher pushers themselves have long starved of support) and offering equality of opportunity and choice (of all things!) for parents. They will not acknowledge that, in the broad experience of the nation, voucher programs do far more damage than good for students, parents, and education. 

I’ve been talking about this for a while now. For example, please see my response to a question about vouchers in a recent forum:

WATCH THIS:

NATHAN JOHNSON ON SCHOOL VOUCHERS

Not on social media? Click here to watch Nathan’s response online.

In this recent CBS News Texas interview, this 2023 Texas Senate press briefing, and this podcast about Texas politics in general, I take the voucher issue apart a little more thoroughly.

I’ve been wrong about things before (who hasn’t?). Because I expect the voucher bill to pass the Legislature in some form, I’d like to be wrong about this. But I fear that I’m not wrong, that vouchers will further damage education in Texas. 

I will continue my efforts to lift public education up, not tear it down. It would be easier to do nothing and to pretend that sending public tax dollars to private schools will serve the greater good. But I didn’t get elected to do what’s easy. I got elected to do what serves the interests of the people, and that’s what I will do.

Don't be STU(pid)

This entry is about really, really bad ballot propositions, and why we must defeat them this November. But first, a question for you: Why are some billionaires hell-bent on destroying our civic core? Is it because big cities lean Democrat? Probably.

Surely, too, the whole idea of a government that improves life and broadens opportunity doesn’t fit with their arrogant worldview – that their business acumen, their generational wealth, and their dumb luck qualify them to command and control all levels of government.

I’d no sooner trust these deluded clowns to fly a commercial jet or perform a heart transplant than I would entrust them with a city budget or city management.

Here’s what I do know: the proponents of the STU(pid) propositions know nothing about government; they just want to control it to serve their own ends. That’s what’s on the ballot RIGHT NOW.

The maleficent proponents of Propositions S, T, and U have spent millions to make us think that these measures promote government accountability and oversight. That’s a lie. Propositions S, T and U aim to shift control from the government we elect to one controlled by special interests alone.

Brenda, they won’t stop at Dallas. These Propositions represent just the initial phase of a larger plot to take control of local government, much like the largely successful plots to take control of our state and federal government. Make no mistake, they’ll be attacking Texas city after Texas city… unless we can defeat them here, in Dallas. 

Here’s an explanation of this trio of STUpid proposals:

• Proposition S — Gives residents license to sue the City of Dallas for perceived violations to the city charter, ordinances, or state law. 

Can you imagine? Proposition S would open the gates to a flood of frivolous and expensive lawsuits against the City of Dallas – all to be financed with taxpayer money. We already have strong mechanisms in place to hold Texas city officials and City Halls accountable.

• Proposition T — Use a public survey to compensate or fire the City Manager

Are you kidding me? Proposition T is the one the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board flagged as the most troubling. If passed, Dallas City Hall becomes nothing but a playground for lobbyists, big money developers, and special interests, while the rest of us suffer the consequences. 

• Proposition U — Mandates the hiring of hundreds of additional police officers

Proposition U is a classic right-wingnut stunt. Pretending to be about safety, this blunt and stupid approach simultaneously (1) blows a colossal whole in the City budget – forcing massive cuts in essential city services – and (2) absurdly pushes fundamental governance and law enforcement decisions to a vote the big money machine thinks it can control. This is BAD government.

Not surprising then, that every single living former mayor of Dallas – from our most conservative to our most progressive — and all 14 (!) City Council members oppose Propositions S, T, & U. And so do I.

Please help us defeat Propositions S, T, and U on Election Day.

¡Presidenta! ¡Presidenta!

It’s been about a week since I got back from the Texas Legislative Delegation’s 7-day visit to Mexico. What a time to be there! This photo captures some of the energy we shared, in that insufficient way that photos can, from a balcony above Zócalo Square where history was unfolding before us.

Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office and became Mexico’s 66th president. A respected scientist and an experienced politician, she is the first woman ever to lead the country. She enters the office amidst great change – in politics, technology, industry and culture. You could feel the hope and apprehension, the pure excitement in the air, there at Zócalo Square, and everywhere in that big, big city.

It was the highlight of a trip that had many great moments. 

In an important way, seeing Mexico inaugurate President Sheinbaum felt like a call to action. Given that the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for renewal in 2026, as a father, I wondered, will my daughter see – will the world see – the first major international trade agreement negotiated by two women as heads of state? I hope so. 

First we must elect the first female president of our nation.

Are they serious?

Why are Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and some Republican legislators throwing a fit over not being able to carry a firearm around at the State Fair of Texas?

Are they serious? Or is their outrage just another round of base-baiting gun stuff, with no anchor in logic or public activity?

Seems the latter to me. There's all kinds of public spaces and events in Texas where you can't bring a gun, like rodeos, and festivals, and college football games, and...

• public and private K-12 schools and colleges

• government court or offices utilized by the court

• racetracks

• most parts of airports

• bars

• hospitals

• polling locations (!)

• professional sporting games

• nursing homes

• Rodeo Austin

• your workplace if the business says so

• behavioral health hospitals

• San Antonio Rodeo

• Houston Rodeo

• local and state government meeting rooms

• any private businesses

• music festivals – (like Austin City Limits, Lights All Night)

• Texas A&M, UT Austin, Texas Tech football games

• Circuit of the Americas events

• Dallas Riverfront Jazz Festival

• Texas Tribune Festival

• other private property

So what's different about the State Fair?

This kind of nonsense is not just political gaming, it’s damaging. The last thing this state needs is another rallying cry for the proliferation of weapons. I’ll go further: it’s so illogical, so whiney, so silly that it even damages more serious arguments in favor of gun-owner rights.

The State Fair of Texas should ignore Ken Paxton’s threats, and the Legislature should reject any attempts to bludgeon the safety and good sense out of the State Fair with another bad gun bill. We have real work to do.

Don't let J.D. Vance control your travel plans

A federal abortion travel ban? J.D. Vance is “sympathetic” to the idea:

This is the same kind of crazy Big Government control over women that I filed a bill to stop local governments from doing in Texas (SB 45 in 88(4)). 

Do not let this man into the White House.

These ordinances are unconstitutional. That’s true at every level of government. The federal Constitution grants each of us a right to interstate travel. 

What’s ‘creepy’ (to aptly borrow the term from Vance himself) is that J.D. Vance, as a graduate of Yale Law School, knows the limits and protections of the Constitution better than most. Yet he would, in this twisted misogynistic way, pretend otherwise. 

Brenda, we can force neither Trump nor his running mate (nor his illegitimate Supreme Court) to be honest. But we can at least try to be honest with ourselves about what’s happening: these guys don’t respect women, or men, or the Constitution.

They care about nothing other than their own power. And they’ll destroy every constitutional right they see as a threat to their power. The Right to an abortion, and even the right to travel, are such rights. 

Which is precisely why we must defeat them.

The first female President of the United States

A strong field of contenders faced off in the 2020 Democratic Presidential primary. In October 2019, I endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. At the time, he was polling in fourth place. I felt that, among the field of outstanding candidates, Biden alone could unite the majority of the nation against Donald Trump, and that he alone possessed the wisdom, skill, and understanding we would need in order to govern with vision in a time of chaos and division.

Joe Biden did unite the party, he did draw independent voters, and he did defeat Donald Trump. And as President, Joe Biden delivered progress for the nation far beyond all expectations. 

I now endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the next Democrat to defeat Donald Trump and the next Democrat to lead our nation in a time of tumult and opportunity.

n every meaningful way, Kamala Harris presents the stark contrast to Trump that will win the election – her respect for democratic institutions to his contempt for democracy itself, her coherent communication to his lunatic rambling, her intelligence to his foolishness, her personal experience and empathy to his selfish, vulgar detachment from nearly everyone and everything.

Importantly, among many strong potential contenders, Harris alone possesses the wisdom and skill – born of experience in the White House – necessary to govern with vision in a time of chaos and division, and to lead the nation in its vital role on the world stage.

Please join me in supporting Vice President Kamala Harris for President: www.kamalaharris.com.

Is policy for sale in Texas?

I’ll tell you what happened, and you tell me whether it seems that in Texas, policy is for sale. 

Pennsylvania billionaire voucher zealot Jeff Yass contributed $10 million to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign this cycle. That’s not a typo. Yass donated $6 million to Abbott during the Republican primaries, which Abbott’s team obscenely but accurately bragged is the “largest single donation in Texas history”, and another $4 million just recently (which not incidentally is the 2nd largest donation in Texas history).

Weirdly, Abbott put the Pennsylvanian Yass’s $6 million into a separate bank account. He then spent an estimated – you guessed it – $6 million campaigning to purify the Republican party, by ousting Republican House members who throughout last year’s regular and special sessions dared to think for themselves and to vote according to their convictions and in the interests of their constituents, by opposing school vouchers. 

Why would Abbott go to such extreme lengths to destroy the careers of politicians who for many years had served him (all too) faithfully? Ten million reasons.

We are left to wonder: is the school voucher fight about public education, or is it about campaign contributions and political power?

Policy should not be for sale in Texas.

Our kids should not be pawns in these grotesque power-of-money games. 

But here we are. 

I’m not content to let our policy, and our democracy, get auctioned off to Big Money. I know you’re not either.

Dear Squad: here's what we learned in Texas...

Dear Squad: 

Congratulations on your quest to impeach the hypocritical activist ideologue Justices Thomas and Alito. Very exciting.

f you succeed in bringing the House of Representatives to impeach them, here are three things to consider as you set your expectations for the Senate trial — drawn from our experience in the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton here in Texas:

3️⃣ The Senate jurors won’t much care what gets said or shown (they’ve already made up their minds).

2️⃣ TV newscasters will care, then they won’t. (But what sort of ads might they run?). 

1️⃣ The Senate will not convict, but it will declare war on the House. Again. 

Best of luck to you. If you can get them out, so much the better.

No one is talking about the scariest moment in the debate

Something critical and ominous is missing from the debate discussion. Watch the clip below, or read the quoted excerpt. When asked what he would say to voters who fear that he would again violate his oath of office by obstructing the constitutional transfer of power, Trump replied:

Don’t be distracted by the lying. It’s much darker than that. 

Trump is trying to condition your thinking. He’s saying, in essence, “Things were better with me in power, see, and you should feel good about doing anything – even taking power through violence – to ensure my rule. Don’t worry about the constitution, or democracy. I’ll make everything great. As for that failed mob-led coup d’etat, that was just a missed opportunity.”

He is brazenly laying the foundation for becoming America’s Supreme Leader. (No doubt he’s jealous of his acknowledged heroes – Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and the Supreme Leader himself, Kim Jong Un – who don’t have to worry about fair elections.)

Am I overreacting? As if to quell any doubts, later in the debate Trump said that he would accept the results of the upcoming presidential election only “if it’s a fair, and legal, and good election.” ...Say what?!? A “good election”? 

When asked what form of government the newly formed United States had, Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Quoted so often as to become tiresome, before the debate I might have rolled my eyes when someone trotted it out. I won’t now. 

A story of success: the ACA turns 14

The Affordable Care Act — a national landmark for healthcare access — turned 14 this week. The effect in Texas cannot be overstated: as of this year, 3.5 million Texans buy health insurance through the ACA. That’s nearly triple the enrollment just five years ago. Indeed, ACA coverage benefits people from all walks of life, but it is absolutely critical for people who don’t have employer-sponsored coverage. It’s the difference between being able to afford preventive care, routine checkups, as well as life-improving medications and life-saving treatments and surgeries, and… not. 

Despite this success, Texas still has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the country. More than 16% of our population remains uninsured – more than double the national average.

What more can we do? Medicaid expansion of course remains the single most powerful policy option we have. We could insure around a million Texans who live in poverty. The public favors Medicaid expansion by a margin of more than 2:1. For three legislative sessions and all the time in between, I’ve pushed for Medicaid expansion through a variety of forms (most notably my Live Well Texas program). But as yet none have passed – none has even gotten a committee hearing let alone a vote.

From a fiscal standpoint as well as a moral one, the Republican refusal to expand Medicaid makes no sense at all. It’s a financial net-positive policy for the state budget, lowers employer health insurance premiums, stabilizes family finances, and makes people healthier – that’s right: it works for government, business, and people. That’s why 40 other states (and Wash. D.C.) have opted in, and 0 have opted out. Medicaid expansion under the ACA is 40-0.

But even were Texas to expand Medicaid, we would still have millions of uninsured Texans. So, what else can we do? We can get more people insured through the ACA marketplace by leveraging federal subsidies. 

That’s what I did in the 87th Legislative Session, when I introduced and passed Senate Bill 1296. By restoring to the state the authority to regulate ACA premium standards (not prices), and by requiring that health insurance policies be priced relative to the value they provide, we triggered a federal funding formula that brought in billions more federal dollars to lower prices for working Texans who couldn’t afford insurance premiums otherwise.

A recent independent analysis estimated that SB 1296 resulted in around 350,000 previously uninsured Texans being able to purchase private coverage on the ACA marketplace.

We can do more. By coordinating state and private efforts, we can make it possible for hundreds of thousands of low-income Texans to afford to buy health insurance on the ACA marketplace. I’ll be leading that effort. And I’m going to keep introducing legislation to expand Medicaid, by any avenue we can.

Final Countdown

This is one of the most competitive Texas Legislative races this year, and everyone will be watching. It's critical that we prove that our movement has the kind of power to bring real change back to the people of Dallas.

🚗➡️✅ If you need a ride to the polls, we've partnered with Rideshare2Vote to make sure you can get to your voting center. To schedule your ride to the polls, get the Rideshare2Vote app, go online to booking.Rideshare2Vote.com, or call 888-977-2250. 

This is the moment we've been waiting for

Today is the very first day of Early Voting! This is the moment we've been working towards; all our hard work comes down to what happens over the next 15 days.

Polls will open today from 8 am - 5 pm. By voting today, you can be one of the very first to cast your vote to re-elect Senator Nathan Johnson to the Texas Senate.

Early Voting runs from today through March 1st. Vote early and cast your ballot at a Dallas Early Vote Center nearest you. Check the Early Voting schedule below or online at dallascountyvotes.org to make sure the polls are open when you arrive.

If you need a ride: We've partnered with Rideshare2Vote to make sure that everyone can cast their ballot this primary election. To schedule your ride to the polls, get the Rideshare2Vote app, go online to booking.Rideshare2Vote.com, or call 888-977-2250. 🚗➡️✅

Waiting to vote in-person on Election Day, March 5th? Find the list of all Dallas polling locations, here. Polls will be open from 7am - 7pm on Election Day.

Another day, another failing grade from the far right …

The NRA released its report card on Texas senators. I got another ‘F’.

Whatever. The vast majority of Texans want to see a whole set of a simple, sensible gun-safety laws enacted in our state.

The gun lobby is unhappy that I’ve supported raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon to 21; requiring background checks for all firearm sales; requiring a “cooling off” period of 72 hours after the purchase of a firearm; and allowing for the temporary removal of firearms from those who are an imminent danger to themselves or others. 

They’re unhappy that I’ve filed bills to increase the availability of safe storage locations and to create a mechanism for someone to place themselves on a temporary do-not-sell list. 

They’re unhappy that I support permitting and gun-safety training requirements.

I’m not interested in making them happy. I was elected to represent the people, and the people overwhelmingly support meaningful gun safety laws.

I’m good with F’s on the NRA report card. My grades come from you — the Texans I represent.

Dallas Morning News ENDORSES Nathan Johnson!

Hi Friend,

The Dallas Morning News has just endorsed Nathan Johnson for reelection to the Texas Senate from District 16 and the message is clear: “We urge voters to look at Johnson’s record and return him to office.”

Senator Johnson has been delivering results for Dallas and the State of Texas since his first day in the Texas Senate. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Here’s what the Dallas Morning News had to say:

“Johnson has quietly become one of the most effective Democratic legislators in Texas. He has worked tirelessly, strategically and across the aisle to advance a swath of matters that help Texas be a better state.”

“In a Legislature that is hostile to Democrats, he actually gets bills passed.”

Johnson has “stood in the path of Republican overreach” and “worked to improve the grid, water availability, access to health care and any number of issues critical to our future.” 

We’re honored that the Dallas Morning News has joined so many other organizations and officials in supporting Senator Johnson.

The Texas and Dallas AFL-CIO, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas, the Sierra Club, Dallas police and firefighters, top Dallas leaders like State Senator Royce West and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, and many more … they’ve all recognized that Senator Johnson is the leader Dallas needs in the Texas Senate.

With early voting starting in just 16 days, we’re spreading Senator Johnson’s message across Dallas — and we won’t stop until we’ve reached everyone.

If you’d like to help, please chip in whatever you can now so we can urge every voter to follow the Dallas Morning News’s advice: “look at Johnson’s record and return him to office.”

Honored to be endorsed by my friend, Senator Royce West

Senator Royce West and I have been a powerful force for the people of Dallas. Together, we've taken on the GOP extremists in the Texas State Senate time and time again, and scored major wins for working families.

Watch this and learn why leading Texas Democrats like my friend, Senator Royce West, have endorsed my re-election campaign ...

I'm running for re-election to continue fighting for working Texas families, and there's so much more that Senator West and I can get done together.

51st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Instead of celebrating today’s 51st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are staring into the reality of a post-Roe world. The stories of Kate Cox, Dr. Austin Dennard, and thousands of other Texas women and their families are no longer hypothetical, they are real. The anti-woman agenda in Texas is cruel and frightening, causing women to leave our state or to simply not come here.

Having enacted a virtually total ban on abortion, what more damage could they do? Now various cities and counties are joining the Big Orwellian Government movement, deputizing citizens to persecute fellow citizens for helping women leave Texas to receive abortion care.

None of this is acceptable. I filed bills last year to block the abortion travel bans and to protect people who assist women in leaving the state for care. Meanwhile I support Congressional action to codify reproductive rights. The paradigm in Roe, as shaped by a half century of common law and cultural development, provides the most logical point of reference.

Despite all, today we should celebrate the compassion, scientific rigor, cultural respect, and political humility of Roe, as we reaffirm our commitment to protecting women’s autonomy and to keeping government out of matters of personal faith, conscience and philosophy.

Celebrating Dr. King’s legacy – in Texas and beyond

On August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, civil rights leader and labor organizer Philip Randolph introduced the next speaker. Randolph kept it short:

At this time, I have the honor to present to you the moral leader of our nation, a great dedicated man, a philosopher of a nonviolent system of behavior and seeking to bring about social change for the advancement of justice, freedom and human dignity. I have the pleasure to present to you, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Then followed Dr. King’s most famous and influential speech, “I Have a Dream.” 

Today we celebrate this moral leader of our nation not only as a federal holiday, but also as a Texas state holiday. That wasn’t always the case. Enacted as a federal holiday in 1983, Texas was one of a handful of states that didn’t initially recognize the holiday. Eight years later, in 1991, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 134, recognizing the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial holiday. 

State Senator Eddie Bernice Johnson, the first black woman ever elected to public office from Dallas, was one of the initial voices of strength behind SB 134:

Eddie Bernice Johnson passed away on December 31, 2023 after a lifetime of service to our state and nation. She was a friend and mentor to many, and an inspiration to all. We shall miss her leadership and guidance.

Today, as we honor Dr. King’s legacy, I ask that we honor her legacy as well—a legacy that includes leading Texas to set aside the third Monday of January each year to recommit to the dream Dr. King shared with us all.

Our new ad is live!

Brenda, our first video ad of this campaign is live! Click here to watch.

We recently completed and launched first campaign video, and we want to make sure you have a chance to see it.

A huge thanks to all the Team Johnson supporters who helped make this ad possible. It's thanks to folks like you that Nathan's campaign for a Texas that works for everyone has grown into the movement it is today.

Senator Johnson is leading in the Texas Senate on the critical issues of our time — defending abortion rights from extremists, promoting reliable and sustainable power, fighting to expand Medicaid, and protecting our public schools from efforts to strip them of our public dollars.

And he's never backing down.

But this fight is about all of us, together. While Republicans like Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick buy their own support, we need to build ours.

Your support means everything to a campaign like ours.

I’m pro-choice. Period.