蜜桃影视

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥檚 effort to fill local school board seats with candidates who embrace his conservative was mostly a success Tuesday night 鈥� even in some counties that lean to the left. 

Unofficial results show 19 of the 30 candidates he endorsed won their races. Six others are headed to runoffs in the general election on Nov. 8 and five were defeated.

鈥淲omen with kids are the swing vote in Florida,鈥� said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. DeSantis, she added, was 鈥渂rilliant鈥� in waiting until early voting was over Sunday to on behalf of his candidates. 鈥淗e knows that the majority of Republicans are going to vote on Election Day.鈥�

The majority of the governor鈥檚 favored candidates won in counties that voted for former President Trump in 2020, but some also picked up seats in Democratic strongholds. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about the boards we flipped that now have a majority of parents鈥� rights members,鈥� said Tina Descovich, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a growing conservative organization that, like DeSantis, is opposed to schools鈥� attention to LGBTQ rights and social justice issues. 鈥淧arents know their children the best.鈥�

In Miami-Dade, the state鈥檚 largest district, DeSantis-backed Monica Colucci, an educator who worked in the governor鈥檚 administration, defeated longtime incumbent Marta Perez. And Roberto Alonso, who founded an ed tech company and owns an adult day care, beat two other candidates, including Maribel Balbin, who was endorsed by the teachers union.

Balbin said she didn鈥檛 want Alonso to 鈥渨alk into a seat without at least having a challenge of some sort.鈥�

In Duval County, which includes Jacksonville, April Carney 鈥� who was part of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol 鈥� beat incumbent Elizabeth Andersen, a licensed mental health therapist. Carney, one of DeSantis鈥檚 candidates, has not confirmed whether she was at the Capitol that day.

鈥淚鈥檓 concerned for our teachers and students,鈥� Andersen told 蜜桃影视. She rejected political endorsements because she didn鈥檛 want the race to be partisan. 鈥淭his level of political involvement by the governor in a local race is unprecedented and un-American.鈥� 

The primary was a chance to gauge how voters would respond to DeSantis鈥檚 anti-鈥漺oke鈥� education agenda. 

DeSantis has made a cornerstone of his re-election campaign. In November, he鈥檒l face U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat and former governor who released his of school board preferences. But some education advocates viewed the endorsements from both candidates as unwelcome intrusion into nonpartisan races.

鈥淧arents don鈥檛 like it,鈥� said Melissa Erickson, executive director of the Alliance for Public Schools 鈥� an advocacy organization focusing on districts along the I-4 corridor, from Tampa (Hillsborough County) to Daytona Beach (Volusia County). 鈥淭hey want school board meetings to be boring again.鈥�

In Hillsborough County, where Crist鈥檚 and DeSantis鈥檚 candidates went head-to-head, Erickson saw less of an impact. Incumbent Stacy Hahn, endorsed by DeSantis, was reelected, as was incumbent Karen Perez, who picked up Crist鈥檚 endorsement. Another DeSantis candidate, Patricia Rendon won an open seat. 

鈥淭wo incumbents are going back to the school board. People are voting for who they know,鈥� Erickson said. 鈥淣obody massively outperformed their demographic.鈥� 

鈥楢 one-size-fits-all鈥� agenda

DeSantis unveiled his initial in June. After Crist announced his preferred candidates in July, DeSantis expanded his list to cover 18 districts. 

To earn the governor鈥檚 support, candidates had to complete a survey and commit to furthering his 10-point , which includes keeping 鈥渨oke gender ideology out of schools鈥� and rejecting critical race theory in the curriculum.

Andersen, in Duval, said the pledge runs counter to the principle of local control in education. 

鈥淭o me that鈥檚 a one-size-fit-all education agenda,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are not the same as Hillsborough or Miami. We want to make decisions that work for our schools and our kids.鈥�

But she represents a more conservative, mostly white part of the county. Carney won 53% of the vote.

With the Florida governor expected to seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024, the question is whether his education platform translates outside of Florida as well. He recently took his message to Arizona, Pennsylvania and Ohio, for Republican candidates. Republican Doug Mastriano, running for Pennsylvania governor, said he wanted to make his state the

鈥淢any people have moved to Florida because of what we鈥檝e done,鈥� said Alysha Legge, who lost to incumbent Perez in Hillsborough. She pointed to above-average and keeping schools open during the pandemic as reasons contributing to the state鈥檚 growth. 鈥淚 honestly would love for him to stay in Florida. We need him a little longer.鈥�

and changing demographics have shifted the state in a . Part of that growth includes an influx of Cubans. While they tend to lean more Republican, , some experts on Florida politics said that doesn鈥檛 mean they are as far to the right as DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. 

鈥嬧�嬧�滺ispanics are more in the center. They鈥檙e trying to figure out what U.S. politics are all about,鈥� said Marcos Vilar, executive director of , a nonprofit that has worked to get Hispanic candidates elected to school boards. 

Vilar was more focused on races in Orange County, which has a large Hispanic population. DeSantis didn鈥檛 endorse anyone in those races, but there were still contests between conservative and more liberal candidates. 

, incumbents Teresa Jacobs and Angie Gallo fended off conservative challengers, but Alicia Farrant, part of Moms for Liberty, will face Michael Daniels in a runoff. Many of DeSantis鈥檚 picks also received backing from the , a conservative group focused on removing any influence of critical race theory over K-12 curriculum.

In Manatee County, just south of the Tampa area, Sean Conley challenged DeSantis-backed incumbent Chad Choate. Although he鈥檚 a Republican 鈥� supporting for-profit charter schools, tighter security and fiscal responsibility 鈥� Conley said he knew it would be difficult to win. Even the chairman of the local Republican party got involved in the race. urging members in an Aug.18 email to be 鈥渓aser-focused鈥� on winning the seats for DeSantis鈥檚 candidates. 

Rev. James Golden, another Manatee County board member who ran for re-election is a local leader in the Democratic party. But he said he has 鈥渟crupulously鈥� avoided partisanship in his role as a board member. 

With voters last fall renewing a for the school district, Golden thought that was a good sign they would vote him in for another term. But challenger Richard Tatem earned just enough votes to avoid a runoff.

The governor, Golden said, is 鈥渢earing down the fundamental premise behind public education.鈥� Teachers, he added, shouldn鈥檛 have to worry about 鈥渨hose mama is a Democrat and whose daddy is a Republican.鈥�

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.