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← Signal: State & Power

Billionaire-Backed Groups Toppled West Virginia Lawmaker Who Sought to Curb Voucher Spending

Confirmed1 source · Oct 19, 2026

After Delegate Vernon Criss proposed financial limits on the state's Hope Scholarship program, political action committees funded by the Koch family and Pennsylvania billionaire Jeffrey Yass spent over $145,000 to help unseat him in 2026.

Billionaire-Backed Groups Toppled West Virginia Lawmaker Who Sought to Curb Voucher Spending
Image via ProPublica

What happened

In February 2026, West Virginia Delegate Vernon Criss, a Republican and chair of the House Finance Committee, proposed limiting payouts from the state's Hope Scholarship program, which diverts public tax dollars to private education. The proposal triggered intense lobbying and public opposition. Within days, lawmakers abandoned the effort to curtail voucher spending. Three political action committees—one affiliated with the Koch family and two funded by billionaire Jeffrey Yass (School Freedom Fund and Sugar Maple PAC)—then targeted Criss in the 2026 primary, spending more than $145,000 to support a 23-year-old challenger against the long-serving incumbent. Criss lost, becoming one of four incumbent Republicans ousted by these PACs during that election cycle. David McIntosh, president of School Freedom Fund, subsequently stated that the elections served as 'a warning to Republican leaders like Vernon Criss—if you oppose school freedom, expect to be held accountable.'

Context

Criss had authored the Hope Scholarship legislation five years prior with no income requirements—the first of its kind nationally, since replicated in 11 other states. The program enrolled 2,300 students in its first year but has grown to 26,000 students, exceeding enrollment in the state's largest public school district and driving annual costs from $9 million to a projected $200 million or more. Criss's concern was that unchecked growth combined with tax cuts threatened West Virginia's budget stability. The context reflects a broader national pattern: billionaire-backed political groups, including those affiliated with the Koch family and Jeffrey Yass (who has spent over $350 million since 2015 on political campaigns promoting public funding for private education), have mobilized to defend and expand voucher programs against any efforts to impose spending guardrails or caps. Meanwhile, West Virginia's public school system faces crisis: since 2019, the state has closed 70 public schools and lost over 30,000 students, with up to 20 additional closures projected. The voucher program directs dollars away from public schools, compounding these funding shortfalls.