Moms for Liberty Annihilated in School Board Elections

Voters across the U.S. delivered a stinging rebuke to Moms for Liberty, rejecting the majority of the candidates endorsed by the conservative group in school board elections this week.

In recent years, school boards have become political flashpoints—and conservatives have targeted public education, arguing that parents should have more control over what their children learn and experience at school.

Moms for Liberty was founded in 2021, initially to oppose COVID-19 regulations in schools, but has since expanded to oppose teachings about race in schools, curb the rights of LGBTQ+ students and advocate for book bans. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated it an extremist group.

A year ago, the group celebrated a wave of school board victories, but in Tuesday's elections, the majority of the more than 130 candidates the group endorsed in school board elections across the country lost.

Every single candidate endorsed by Moms for Liberty in Minnesota, Kansas, North Carolina and Washington lost their race.

The group backed 14 candidates in Iowa, but only one was successful. Similarly in Virginia, just one of the six candidates endorsed by the group won her race. The group supported 25 candidates across Ohio and five won.

Nineteen candidates were endorsed for school boards in New Jersey, but only four won.

"We knew this before, but it's pretty damn clear now: voters are not buying what Moms for Liberty is selling," Sarah Dohl, the chief campaigns officer at Indivisible, a progressive organization, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

On social media, Moms for Liberty said 50 of the group's endorsed candidates won in Tuesday's elections, noting that 83 percent were first-time candidates.

Tiffany Justice, a Moms for Liberty founder, told Newsweek that the wins amounted to 43 percent of the candidates endorsed by the group.

"Our chapter chairs work tirelessly to identify candidates that are truly focused on parental rights and bring them to the forefront of this fight," Justice said. "Parental rights is and will continue to be a top issue in every election until our children are safe."

Co-founder Tina Descovich told The Associated Press that the group has "to work harder" and "figure out how to invest in our candidates."

On Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, Justice said Tuesday's wins are "nothing to sneeze at," noting that it brings the total number of the group's candidates who have won races in the past two years to 365.

The American Federation of Teachers said voters had delivered a clear message.

"These results underline what families have been telling us for the last two years. They don't want culture wars; they want safe and welcoming public schools where their kids can recover and thrive," Randi Weingarten, the president of the teacher's union, said in a statement.

"Where extremists peddled fear, voters wanted hope. Where extremists tried to smear and divide, voters demanded real solutions. Voters want government to support them, not ban books, censor history or limit their reproductive choices. They want good jobs, higher wages, lower costs and investments in transport and infrastructure. They reject division and want to seize the future together."

Update 11/9/23, 10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add comment from Tiffany Justice.