Rightwing Extremists Defeated By Democrats In US School Board Elections
In April’s school-board elections, numerous right-wing US extremists were defeated. The left saw this as a victory and a potential benefit in their fight against Republicans in the following year. In Illinois, over 70% of the school-board candidates the Democrats supported were victorious. These candidates outpaced the anti-LGBTQ+ culture-warriors that have taken control of many school boards throughout the US. Republican-endorsed candidates in Wisconsin also failed to get enough support. A right-wing organization named Moms for Liberty that is connected to affluent Republican backers and has promoted book banning in the US stated that just eight of their supported candidates won school-board positions. Other conservative groups experienced less than impressive results too. Education and free-speech organizations have warned about a new wave of book-banning occurring in public schools throughout America. Over the past two years, conservatives in various states have banned hundreds of books from classrooms or libraries. The targeted books are frequently written by people of color or authors that are part of the LGBTQ+ community, or they address these subjects.
Fortunately, the public saw through the hidden extremist agendas of candidates running for school board, particularly across Chicago’s suburbs. JB Pritzker, Illinois’ Democratic governor, commented on the election, stating that the extremists had lost; he expressed his delight about the results and that the voters threw out these extremists. The Democratic party of Illinois spent $300,000 on the election, endorsing dozens of candidates. The group recommended 117 candidates, and 84 won their races.
Teachers’ unions, including the Illinois Education Association, supported candidates in school-board elections throughout the state. The IEA supported approximately 100 races, and around 90% of their supported candidates won their elections. Union-supported candidates won two-thirds of their school-board races in Milwaukee.
The results were disappointing for conservative groups who had invested money into the races. The 1776 Project, a political action committee funded by billionaire GOP donor Richard Uihlein, reported that only a third of their endorsed candidates won their races. Politico was the first media outlet to report on the underwhelming performances. Ben Hardin, the executive director of the Democratic party of Illinois, highlighted that "values were on the line in these races." He explained that the Democrats were aware that it wouldn’t be simple, particularly given the far-right’s organized movement to hide their true agenda. He was grateful that the voters recognized untruths and showed up to support credulous community advocates. The recent elections should provide Democrats with some hope, especially considering that other states are conducting school-board elections later in the year and a vital presidential election will take place in 2024. Griffin noted that the results demonstrate the importance of having ties within the community and the necessity of building trust.
