SCHOOL CHOICE BLITZ: Youngkin Re-Ups Nevada Push With Spanish Ads as ‘Freedom’ Scholarship Fight Expands

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is doubling down on Nevada with a new round of advertising promoting President Donald Trump’s Education Freedom Tax Credit, expanding his multimillion-dollar school-choice campaign into Spanish as the federal program prepares to launch in 2027.

Youngkin’s national policy group, Empowering America’s Parents, first launched its paid media campaign in August with advertisements in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states where governors had not opted into the federal scholarship program. The organization later expanded into Nevada, Georgia and Iowa, where Republican governors had already joined the program, with ads encouraging continued participation.

Now the group is returning to Nevada as part of another advertising push and launching Spanish-language spots in Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin and New Mexico.

Its Nevada ad, “Winning,” puts Gov. Joe Lombardo front and center.

“Governor Joe Lombardo has Nevada winning, putting parents in charge, increasing K through 12 funding, and now opting in to the Education Freedom Tax Credit,” the narrator says.

A Spanish-language version, “Nevada Gana,” delivers the same message to Spanish-speaking families.

The federal program allows taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donations to qualifying scholarship-granting organizations. Treasury regulations released this month set the credit at up to $1,700 for individuals and $3,400 for married couples filing jointly. Scholarship organizations can use those donations for educational expenses including private-school tuition, tutoring, books, transportation and services for students with disabilities. Public-school students can also qualify for certain scholarship-funded services.

Nevada is already participating. Roughly 89 percent of Nevada K-12 students, more than 480,000 children, are estimated to meet the program’s income eligibility requirements.

Youngkin has made parental control and school choice central to his political identity since his 2021 campaign for Virginia governor. His new organization describes its mission as putting parents “at the head of the table” while expanding education choice and transparency in public schools. The national push is also keeping Youngkin visible well beyond Virginia as speculation continues about a possible 2028 presidential bid, though he said he does not expect to be on a presidential debate stage.

The campaign is also arriving as momentum behind the program spreads beyond Republican-led states.

Thirty states have formally opted in, according to current trackers and IRS information. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced this month that New York would participate despite opposition from teachers unions.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, another Democrat, has also said he is “very open” to joining after Treasury released its rules, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For Youngkin, that movement is the opening.

Polling finds awareness of the tax credit remains low, but support increases significantly once voters learn what the scholarships can cover. The organization plans to keep concentrating its advertising on suburban and persuadable families, turning what was once a wonky tax provision into a broader political fight over who controls a child’s education.

In Nevada, Youngkin’s message is considerably simpler: Lombardo opted in, hundreds of thousands of children could qualify, and the campaign intends to make sure parents know it.

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