Rightwing extremists defeated by Democrats in US
school board elections
Republican-backed culture warrior candidates fare
poorly in Illinois and Wisconsin, offering hope to the left
Adam Gabbatt
@adamgabbatt
Fri 21 Apr 2023
10.00 BST
Scores of
rightwing extremists were defeated in school board elections in April, in a
victory for the left in the US and what Democrats hope could prove to be a
playbook for running against Republicans in the year ahead.
In
Illinois, Democrats said more than 70% of the school board candidates it had
endorsed won their races, often defeating the kind of anti-LGBTQ+ culture
warrior candidates who have taken control of school boards across the country.
Republican-backed
candidates in Wisconsin also fared poorly. Moms for Liberty, a rightwing group
linked to wealthy Republican donors which has been behind book-banning
campaigns in the US, said only eight of its endorsed candidates won election to
school boards, and other conservative groups also reported disappointing
performances.
The results
come as education and free speech organizations have warned of a new surge in
book bans in public schools in America. Over the past two years conservatives
in states around the US have removed hundreds of books from school classrooms
and libraries. The targeted books have largely been texts which address race
and LGBTQ+ issues, or are written by people of color or LGBTQ+ authors.
“Fortunately,
the voters saw through the hidden extremists who were running for school board
– across the [Chicago] suburbs especially,” JB Pritzker, the Democratic
governor of Illinois, said after the results came in.
“Really,
the extremists got trounced yesterday.”
Pritzker
added: “I’m glad that those folks were shown up and, frankly, tossed out.”
The
Democratic party of Illinois spent $300,000 on races in Illinois, the Chicago
Tribune reported, endorsing dozens of candidates. The party said 84 of 117
candidates it had recommended won their races.
Teachers
unions, including the Illinois Education Association, endorsed candidates in
school board elections around the state. The IEA backed candidates in about 100
races, and around 90% of those candidates won, said Kathi Griffin, the
organization’s president.
“I would
hope that the tide is turning, to make sure that people who want to have those
[school board] positions because they want to do good for our kids, continue
[to get elected],” Griffin said.
“I think
that oftentimes these fringe candidates are funded with dark money. That dark
money comes from outside our state.”
The results
were disappointing for conservative groups, who had pumped money into races.
The 1776
Project, a political action committee which received funding from Richard
Uihlein, a billionaire GOP donor, said only a third of the 63 candidates it had
backed in Illinois and Wisconsin had won their races. Politico first reported
on the lackluster performances.
Union-endorsed
candidates won two-thirds of their school board races in Milwaukee, the
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, although Republican-supported candidates
performed better in rural areas.
Ben Hardin,
executive director of the Democratic party of Illinois, said “values were on
the line in these races”.
“We knew
this work wouldn’t be easy, especially given the organized movement from the
far right to disguise their true agenda, but we’re grateful that voters saw
through the falsehoods and turned out to support credible community advocates,”
he said.
“I’m proud
that Illinoisans once again voted for fairness, equity and inclusion in our
state.”
With other
states holding school board elections later this year – and a critical
presidential election in 2024 – the successes offered some hope for Democrats.
At the
local level, at least, Griffin said the results “showed the value of having
relationships within the community”.
“When you
have teachers who are part of the community, who have relationships with
parents, with other community members who engage in community activities and
support that community, there’s a level of trust that is built and that has
happened across our state,” she said.
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