The Republican National Committee (RNC) is blasting Democratic candidates JoAnna Mendoza and Amish Shah for their history of opposing school choice measures as the academic year starts again nationwide.
Trump's Education Agenda
President Donald Trump has advocated for school choice, calling it "a right for every family" in January, and further proclaiming on Monday that his administration is "putting parents firmly in the driver's seat. Expanding real school choice so families, not bureaucrats, decide what's best for their kids."
Policies demonstrating this commitment include the introduction of an Education Freedom Tax Credit of up to $1,700 for tuition, textbooks, and other costs for public and private schools. 31 states are on board with it.
Mendoza and Shah's Opposition
JoAnna Mendoza previously served as executive director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, where she fiercely argued against school choice and even contributed to a 2023 report criticizing Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, which was described as "welfare for the wealthy."
Meanwhile, in 2022, Arizona House Democrats, including Amish Shah, voted unanimously against HB2853, which would have made ESAs available to all of Arizona's 1.1 million students.
Shah also advocates funding public education more heavily than school choice.
"While Republicans are giving families opportunities and options for the children's education, Mendoza and Shah want to lock Arizona's children into the old failed system and shove woke propaganda down their throats," said RNC spokesman Nick Poche in a statement.
Previous Attacks
The RNC and National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) have gone after Mendoza and Shah before, with Mendoza receiving the brunt of the attacks due to the numerous allegations surrounding her.
Shah, meanwhile, was recently targeted by the NRCC for his support to make Washington, D.C., a state.
"Socialist Amish Shah demonstrated he's a partisan Democrat obsessed with seizing power to force unpopular far-left tax hikes on Arizonans," said NRCC Spokesman Ben Petersen, adding, "Arizona families can't afford Socialist Shah rubber-stamping a radical left agenda in Congress."
