Colorado's Jared Polis called opting into the federal Scholarship Tax Credit a “no-brainer”; New York's Kathy Hochul signaled intent to join. But Minnesota, Oregon, and New Mexico governors said no. Among Democratic governors, §25F is splitting along lines that aren't purely partisan.
Coverage of the federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC / ECCA / §25F) often reads as a red-state story — and the participation map skews that way. But the more revealing detail in 2026 is how differently Democratic governors have treated the program, because the credit is voluntarily donor-funded rather than a state appropriation, which scrambles the usual school-choice battle lines.
Two Democratic governors have leaned in. Colorado's Jared Polis was among the earliest to commit, opting in on December 5, 2025 and calling the federal credit a “no-brainer” he would “be crazy not to” take for Colorado families. New York's Kathy Hochul went further than most blue-state governors when she signaled in her FY2027 budget materials in May 2026 that she intends to opt New York in — though she conditioned final participation on reviewing the forthcoming IRS guidance, so New York is best described as committed rather than certified.
Other Democratic governors have drawn the opposite conclusion. Minnesota's Tim Walz said opting in was “never going to happen,” pairing his opposition with a budget proposal that would have ended longstanding state nonpublic-pupil aid if the state participated. Oregon's Tina Kotek declined in 2025, and New Mexico's Michelle Lujan Grisham declined in January 2026. Hawaii's Josh Green has made no public decision. The dividing line among these governors is less about party than about how each weighs the trade-off the program presents: federal scholarship dollars for resident families on one side, and concerns about the effect on public-school funding and federal revenue on the other.
For donors and SGOs, the lesson is to read each state on its own facts rather than by the governor's party. A donor's ability to support an SGO in a given state — and a family's eligibility for scholarships — depends on whether that specific state has opted in, by whichever route, ahead of the January 1, 2027 launch. As of June 2026, roughly 30 states are participating or have signaled intent, and the blue-state column is not empty.