Education takes back seat to abortion rights, marijuana this election cycle
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In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis made education issues a key part of his political platform, endorsing 30 school board candidates statewide and later launching his presidential campaign with those issues front and center.
- Two years later, though, the governor has seemingly put education issues, including school board races, on the back seat.
Why it matters: The apparent shift away from spotlighting education issues during this campaign season shows that Republicans may be backing down from controversial culture war issues.
- But in an election year that had abortion rights and recreational marijuana on the ballot, some argue issues like education inadvertently fell through the cracks.
What they're saying: "It's possible it's a little bit of both, but I really do think [education culture wars] is not a winning issue," Damaris Allen, executive director of Families for Strong Public Schools, told Axios.
- "Polling shows that book removals are highly unpopular and people are tired of their classrooms being used as fighting grounds," she added.
- A 2024 Knight Foundation Study found that 62% of Americans oppose state governments legislating school book content, per ABC News.
Catch up quick: DeSantis was dealt a blow in the August primary, when 11 of the 23 candidates he endorsed lost their race — a notable difference from 2022, when just five of the 30 candidates he endorsed lost.
- Six of his endorsees this year won outright and another six went to a November runoff, including a Miami-Dade race pitting a DeSantis-backed incumbent against a political newcomer.
- In Hillsborough County, two incumbents defeated challenges from DeSantis-endorsed candidates.
Between the lines: "The message [DeSantis-backed candidates] used before worked once, but the opposition has learned how to counter it," Sue Woltanski, Monroe County School Board chair, told Axios.
- "This go-around, [school board] candidates have been able to counter the narrative that conservative, DeSantis-aligned school boards are necessary to protect children."
Zoom in: DeSantis has gone all-in against the abortion rights and marijuana referenda on Tuesday's ballot, but has not campaigned similarly for the GOP-backed Amendment 1, which would make school board races partisan.
The other side: After the August primary, a spokesperson took to social media to defend the governor's effort despite the losses, saying, "You don't shift the culture by only supporting winnable races."
- The DeSantis administration did not respond to questions about the apparent shift in strategy away from education and toward issues like abortion and marijuana.
Reality check: Norín Dollard, of Florida Policy Institute, told Axios she doesn't believe school culture wars are over. This election cycle, though, there's been "an overwhelming number of things to consider."