Media that empowers working people – that's how we build a More Perfect Union.

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Ideas

Have a story to tell or idea to share?
Email [email protected]
© 2021 More Perfect Union Action

Together we can build power for working people.

We’re asking questions that really matter, and telling the stories of people who really need to be seen and heard.

You can support our work by donating today.

Amount

Make It Monthly

Don't Miss a Video!

Access our exclusive reporting and rapid response actions directly in your inbox, so you don’t miss a beat in the fight for working people nationwide.

Be a part of a community backing up independent journalism with action.

Attacks on Public Education Could Swing Elections in Democrats’ Favor

After decades of conservatives defunding public education, there's a backlash brewing. Attacks on public education could swing elections in Democrats favor in traditionally conservative states across the country.

YouTube Thumbnail

Narrated by Jennifer Berkshire

After decades of conservative attacks on public education, there’s a backlash brewing.

[News clip]: This is the Republican playbook now, to whittle away at public schools until they’re all but gone.

While much of the national attention is on inflation and abortion rights, in Oklahoma and other conservative states, the fate of public education could swing the election in Democrats’ favor.

The war on public schools is backfiring.

In Oklahoma, a state where registered Republicans outnumber registered Democrats by a 2-to-1 margin, the race for governor is in a dead heat. Stitt, the governor of Oklahoma, is a big supporter of school vouchers, which take money from public schools and hand it over to religious and private schools.

[Gov. Stitt]: And I pledge to support any legislation that gives parents more school choice.

He tried and failed to pass a massive expansion of the voucher system this year, and he’s promised to try it again if re-elected. His Democratic opponent, Joy Hofmeister, is currently the state schools superintendent.

[Joy Hofmeister]: Here’s the problem. This governor has a school voucher scheme that is a rural school killer. You kill the school, you kill the community.

She opposes the plan — and crucially, so do many rural Republicans. That’s because in rural parts of the state, there aren’t a lot of options besides the public schools. Those schools also happen to be the largest employers in a lot of small towns, which makes school privatization a hard sell.

Polls show that more than 80 percent of Oklahomans think the state should spend more on public education. Which means that candidates pushing plans that will result in cuts to school spending have an uphill battle.

The backlash may be enough to get a Democrat elected governor in this ruby red state. And it could also put another Democrat in the publicly elected superintendent’s seat.

In that race, Democrat Jena Nelson, is leading her Republican opponent, Ryan Walters. She’s running as an avowed public education advocate who wants to boost teacher pay. He’s running as a culture warrior and a proponent of private school vouchers.

[Ryan Walters]: We are going to reject calls from the teachers union to push woke, left-wing indoctrination in our schools.

And, according to polls, a fair number of Republicans plan to cross over to vote for the Democrat. And it’s not just Oklahoma where public education has emerged as a key issue.In states like Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New Hampshire, Republican candidates are running on school privatization.

Take Doug Mastriano, the GOP candidate for governor in Pennsylvania. He’s best known for being a Christian nationalist and an election denier. But his education platform is just as extreme. Mastriano wants to slash school spending by half, then give what’s left to parents via vouchers. The catch: with such deep cuts, parents will end up having to cover much of the cost of education themselves. 

In Illinois, the Republican candidate for governor wants to cut billions in school spending.

[News clip]: At a recent campaign stop, Bailey again promoted his plan to use public funds for private schools. 

[Darren Bailey]: And friends that means educational vouchers. It is a must.

And Bailey wants the state to fund religious schools, like the fundamentalist Christian school he founded. One that uses a controversial curriculum that teaches that the majority of slaveholders treated their slaves well and that women are inferior to men.

Then there’s Michigan, where the issue of public education will likely determine who occupies the governor’s office. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is being challenged by conservative media commentator Tudor Dixon. Dixon is running as a culture war candidate. She says that Michigan’s public schools are indoctrinating kids.

[Tudor Dixon]: Sexual content. We’re talking about pornography in schools. That’s the biggest concern I’m hearing about.

Dixon also has some serious money behind her.

[Gov. Whitmer]: She is bankrolled by Betsy DeVos. She has endorsed Betsy DeVos’ plan to drain half a billion dollars out of public schools.

The DeVoses think that Dixon is their best shot to bring private school vouchers to Michigan, something they’ve been after for decades.

[Betsy DeVos]: I personally think the Department of Education should not exist.

Poll after poll shows that voters across party lines are turned off by Republicans’ education policies. Ever since Glen Youngkin was elected governor of Virginia last year, we’ve been hearing that parent outrage equals electoral gold for Republicans. 

But there’s just one problem with this argument. It doesn’t seem to be true. As we see in Oklahoma, Michigan and plenty of other states, the GOP platform of dismantling public education and restricting what kids learn isn’t attracting voters, but pushing them away. 

The GOP’s education agenda these days is essentially that we shouldn’t have public schools. That’s an extreme position that’s out of step with voters in both parties. So, don’t be surprised if public education turns out to be a deciding issue in Democrats’ favor on November 8th.

Related Stories

YouTube Thumbnail
How One State Is Solving the Education Crisis: Paying Teachers More
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Election To Watch: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez on the Verge of Upsetting Pro-Trump Candidate
Read More

The Latest

YouTube Thumbnail
The Man Corporate America Is Most Afraid Of
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
“I’m A Doctor: Corporate Greed Is Killing Your ER”
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
What Happened to Boeing?
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Chicago’s Radical Solution to End Homelessness
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
In This Town, Only The Rich Get Water
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The Evil Company Buying Subway (And The Rest Of Your Favorite Chains)
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Ban Airbnb? This Town Found a Solution to the Housing Crisis
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
I Work For the King of Beers. I’m Paid Like a Peasant
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
EV Factory Jobs Are Worse Than You Think
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Corruption is Driving Up Your Electricity Bill
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
We Talked To Air Traffic Controllers. What We Heard Will Shock You.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Why Day Care Costs More Than College
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Whistleblower Exposes Toxic Culture At Rivian
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Elizabeth Warren Warns of National Abortion Ban if GOP Wins in 2024
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
What Liberals Get Wrong About Trump Voters
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Legal Weed Is Being Ruined By Corporate Greed
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
Why Going to the Pharmacy Sucks Now
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
5 Questions with AOC: Trump, Child Labor, Worker Uprisings
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
I build cars for a living and I can’t afford to buy one.
Read More
YouTube Thumbnail
The End of Overdraft Fees Is Finally Happening
Read More