Why is The Richest Person in Pennsylvania Spending Millions on Tennessee Politics?

Billionaire supporter of school privatization backs Marsha Blackburn for Governor

Photo by Dmytro Demidko on Unsplash

A billionaire from Pennsylvania who led school voucher political revolutions in Texas and Tennessee is now supporting U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn in her campaign to become the Volunteer State’s Governor.

School Voucher Advocate is Largest Single Donor in Tennessee Gov's Race

Yass is known for his investment in TikTok’s parent company and for being a major financial supporter of President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.

He’s now the largest single contributor in Tennessee’s gubernatorial election after donating $1 million to Team Tennessee, a PAC that is backing U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s bid for the top job.

Blackburn is a vocal advocate for private school vouchers.

Diane Ravitch explores who Jeff Yass is in several blog posts.

She notes his political influence:

Yass’s influence over state politics doesn’t stop after elections are over. His money gets distributed throughout the right-wing network in the state and influences legislation and the conservative agenda year round. The right-wing organizations that spend Yass’s money consistently and successfully lobby to cut corporate taxes, bust unions, block climate solutions, ban abortion, target trans youth, and prevent what the right calls “critical race theory” from being taught in schools.

And adds:

Jeff Yass is one of the richest people in the world. He is the richest person in Pennsylvania. He is #25 or #27 on Bloomberg’s Billionaires’ Index, depending on which day you check. His net worth is about $65 billion. He co-founded the Susquehanna International Group, which is based in Pennsylvania. He is also a major investor in TikTok and is widely believed to have persuaded Trump not to ban it. In the last decade, he has given hundreds of millions to political campaigns, including the 2024 Trump campaign.

In Texas, Yass spent big and won big:

Yass provided $6 million to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to run pro-voucher Republicans against moderate Republicans who supported public schools. Abbott ran a campaign of lies against the moderate Republicans, asserting that they opposed more funding for public schools and that they supported open borders.

With Yass’s money and Abbott’s lies, they managed to knock off enough moderate Republicans to finally pass a voucher bill. The voucher program is currently costing nearly $1 billion, and most of the voucher money pays the tuition of students previously enrolled in private and religious schools.

Picking off pro-public education Republicans in Tennessee proved to be a bit cheaper:

Lee was helped in his voucher quest by the School Freedom Fund and its top donor, Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass. Yass’s group spent more than $4 million to support pro-voucher GOP legislative candidates - winning key primaries and delivering the votes to get Lee’s voucher scheme across the finish line.

And now, even as Tennessee’s school voucher scheme balloons to $300 million, Yass is backing Blackburn - and hoping for a more dramatic privatization of Tennessee schools.