GOP that snubbed Katrina Pierson in her primary now need her to pass school vouchers

  (Raw Story) : Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Ahead of the March primary, Gov. Greg Abbott was raining cash on conservative candidates attempting to oust House Republicans who helped defeat his school voucher push in the last legislative session. But not Katrina Pierson. The former North Texas tea party leader didn't get a dime from the governor, even though she was running against one of his would-be targets: state Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall. Abbott stayed noticeably silent in that race, despite Pierson’s vociferous backing of vouchers and her high-profile stint as Donald Trump’s campaign spokesperson. That quickly changed after the primary elections, which saw the defeat of six anti-voucher Republicans — just shy of the number needed to secure a pro-voucher majority in the House, according to Abbott’s math. That night, Pierson pushed Holland into a primary runoff, after narrowly leading their three-person race. Two days later, Abbott rallied to her side. Pierson, a onetime Abbott critic who worked to drive him from office just two years ago, now counts the governor among her key allies as she vies to unseat Holland in the May 28 overtime round for House District 33. The governor kicked off his runoff campaign tour with a rally for Pierson, and he is expected to draw from his multimillion-dollar war chest to support her, having already dropped $6 million on an array of March contests. Pierson was the only GOP primary challenger to make it past the first round against an anti-voucher ..