Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, has founded a national policy group that will launch with a push to promote a new school choice program.
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.
The states, led by Democratic governors, are among those that have yet to opt in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit, which was in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Donald Trump. The federal initiative is intended to expand school choices 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 launch of his policy group and an 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 worried that such programs benefit private schools at the expense of public schools.
Youngkin’s move is likely to intensify speculation that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2028. Asked whether the group could be a vehicle for any national political ambitions that Youngkin may harbor and want to hone, the person familiar with the planning noted that Youngkin does not appear in the launch video.
“It’s a great issue for the governor,” this person added. “It’s a great accomplishment for the president.”
The group’s internal polling suggests that people express support for the tax credit once they learn about it but also that awareness of the program is low, the person familiar with the plans said. The campaign will be geared toward persuadable voters, primarily in the suburbs. Empowering America’s Parents 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 — particularly in education — became a core issue for Youngkin in his successful 2021 run for governor. He attacked his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, for vetoing bills that would have allowed parents to opt their children out of lessons involving books deemed to have sexually explicit content. (The book at the center of that debate was “Beloved,” Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the horrors of slavery.)
A unique state law prohibits Virginia governors from serving consecutive terms. Youngkin left office this year, and questions about his White House prospects have followed him.
Vice President JD Vance leads most early polls testing a potential GOP field in 2028, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis among other possible candidates.
