Abbott tapped into a powerful national conservative movement and his own campaign war chest to turn turned legislative races into multimillion-dollar affairs.

After a multiyear battle to pass school choice, a bill establishing a $1 billion voucher program in Texas is days away from becoming law. Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2 last week on an 86-61 vote. A companion bill made its way through the House a week prior with a 144-4 vote.

Democrat Beto O’Rourke has nothing good to say about Greg Abbott, but acknowledges the Republican governor used political power effectively to pass “school choice.” Abbott is poised to sign legislation that creates a voucher-style program for families to use public money to attend private schools.