Confidential documents created by a consortium of school privatization groups working together as the entity “Tennessee Coalition for Students” were leaked to Nashville’s NewsChannel 5.
On-air, WTVF’s Phil Williams revealed the documents that “describe a secret effort to try to buy seats in the Tennessee legislature for candidates who are willing to vote against traditional public schools” — and interviewed those candidates who will not vote against traditional schools including Democratic State Representative Gloria Johnson, a former special education teacher, who is running for Republican Marsha Blackburn‘s U.S. Senate seat in 2024.
Johnson has said about school privatization and vouchers: “There is NO state where students do better with vouchers than their public school peers. Vouchers are about subsidizing tuition for those who never went to public schools.”
WATCH: “I’ve never been so proud in my life.” @VoteGloriaJ upon learning from @NC5PhilWilliams that @GovBillLee’s school privatization cartel views her as an obstacle… (they love them some @BryanRichey20 tho🤔💰)
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) November 21, 2023
FULL: https://t.co/uZODCTJWlc pic.twitter.com/qcH6Fez8lH
On the news segment, Johnson read aloud from the leaked document created by the Tennessee Coalition for Students: “Gloria’s presence in the legislature would create almost incalculable problems because of her effectiveness at mobilizing individuals and groups opposed to our work. Ensuring we do not allow someone with her ability to divide to have access to a legislative sounding board is critically important to protecting our state’s progress.”
Thanks for the kind words TN GOP! Every ad the GOP has sent out against me said I was “ineffective.” I always wondered if I was so ineffective, why did they have to spend 1/4 to 3/4 of a million $$ to beat me in a red district? pic.twitter.com/6HVnWshGoi
— Rep. Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) November 21, 2023
Johnson also shared a page of the leaked documents on X and wrote: “Thanks for the kind words TN GOP! Every ad the GOP has sent out against me said I was ‘ineffective.’ I always wondered if I was so ineffective, why did they have to spend 1/4 to 3/4 of a million $$ to beat me in a red district?”
