Early political career

Allison has served on the Alamo Heights Independent School District Early Childhood Task Force, and on the VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority Board of Trustees for 8 years and the last 2 as Vice Chairman.^[2]

Allison was elected to represent District 121 in the Texas House of Representatives on November 6, 2018 and was sworn in on January 8, 2019.^[3][4] Alison ran with the endorsement of the outgoing state representative for the seat, retiring House Speaker Joe Straus.^[5]

Voucher vote and 2024 primary defeat

In November 2023, Allison voted against Republican Governor Greg Abbott's proposal for state-funded vouchers for private schools. Allison was one of 21 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to remove Abbott's voucher plan from the education funding bill; the amendment to drop the voucher proposal passed 83–64.^[6] After his vote, Allison reported being harassed at his home by pro-school choice activists.^[7]

Allion's vote against Abbott's voucher proposal also prompted primary challengers.^[7] Primary challenger criminal defense attorney Marc LaHood ran with endorsements from Abbott and his faction of Texas Republicans.^[8] Allison was also the target of coordinated efforts by several PACs backed by Pennsylvania businessman Jeff Yass to defeat Republicans who opposed the boucher plan.^[7]

Although Allison had a conservative voting record on nearly every issue, LaHood ran to his right, and his primary challenge was boosted by support from Abbott (who spent $672,000 on LaHood's behalf in the final months of the primary campaign).^[8] Texas's Republican Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, ran a pro-LaHood ad in which he posed with a rifle and declared that Allison was the target of his "hunt."^[9] Allison, meanwhile, was supported by House Speaker Dade Phelan,^[8] and ran with the endorsement of the San Antonio Express-News.^[10]

In the March 2024 primary, Allison was defeated for renomination: LaHood won with some 54% of the vote; Allison received 34%, and a third candidate, Michael Champion, received 7%.^[8] The Express-News editorial board described Allison's loss as an intensification of the purge of "traditional, pragmatic conservative Republicans" by a state party "increasingly consumed by retribution, culture warmongering and disinformation-fueled conspiracy theories."^[11]

Elections