Youngkin Launches Group Pushing School Choice Tax Credit

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican widely viewed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has founded a national policy group that is launching with a campaign to promote a new federal school choice program.

The group, Empowering America's Parents, will begin a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz targeting several battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a person familiar with the internal planning told NBC News.

Those states, all led by Democratic governors, are among those that have not opted in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit, a provision of last year's One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Donald Trump. The federal initiative is intended to expand school options for K-12 students and their families.

"Regrettably, 20 states have refused to opt-in to these scholarships," Youngkin said in a statement announcing the group and its accompanying media campaign. "Empowering America's Parents will recognize the strong leaders who embraced this program and aggressively call out far-left governors who won't stand with parents and are instead playing politics."

Critics have long argued that such programs benefit private schools at the expense of public schools.

The launch is likely to intensify speculation that Youngkin will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Asked whether the group could serve as a vehicle for national ambitions, the person familiar with the planning noted that Youngkin does not appear in the launch video. "It's a great issue for the governor," the person said. "It's a great accomplishment for the president."

The group's internal polling suggests support for the tax credit rises once voters learn about it, but that awareness remains low, according to the same person. The campaign will target persuadable voters, primarily in the suburbs, and the group also plans to focus on transparency in public education.

"Nothing is more important than our kids, so who'd be against scholarships for tuition, tutoring, services for kids with disabilities, all paid for by a federal tax credit with no state dollars?" a narrator says in the 30-second launch video. "Not hardworking parents — but far-left governors won't play ball."

Parents' rights in education were central to Youngkin's successful 2021 campaign, when he attacked former Gov. Terry McAuliffe over vetoes of bills allowing parents to opt their children out of lessons involving books deemed sexually explicit. The book at the center of that debate was "Beloved," Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about slavery.

Virginia law bars governors from serving consecutive terms. Youngkin left office this year. Vice President JD Vance leads most early polls of a potential 2028 GOP field, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among other possible contenders.