Education May Propel the Blue Wave in DeVos Country
Should Democrats retake the Rust Belt, it may not only snuff out the DeVos legacy but also change the course of education policy in the nation
It’s increasingly clear that if the November midterm elections are to produce a “Blue Wave” for the Democratic Party, then many of the wins will need to come in Midwestern states that Trump carried in the 2016 presidential election. But what’s less well understood is that an issue helping Democratic candidates compete in the region is education. In the stomping ground of U.S. Secretary Betsy DeVos—including her home state of Michigan as well as the surrounding states of Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, and nearby Minnesota—Democratic candidates are getting an edge by sharply opposing the DeVos agenda of privatizing public schools.
Up and down the ballots in state contests in the Midwest, Democratic candidates call for an end to school voucher programs that use public taxpayer funds to pay for tuitions at private schools, they propose tougher regulations of privately managed charter schools funded by the public, and they pledge to direct public money for education to public schools. Should Democrats retake the Rust Belt, it may not only snuff out the DeVos legacy but also change the course of education policy in the nation.
Why the Midwest Matters
The need for Democrats to prevail in the Midwest is acute. Trump won Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin in 2016 and came close in Minnesota. But a perhaps more important trend in these states is the Republican dominance down ballot where Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature and governors and most of the U.S. House seats in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio.
So far, most Democratic candidates running in state governor races in these states are well ahead or very competitive, and at least 35 seats in state legislatures in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are considered “flippable” by party advocates. Republican candidates are in danger of losing governor elections in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, and elections could give Democrats the upper hand in state legislatures previously controlled by Republicans in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
According to Politico, “Democrats are poised to chip away at Republican statehouse dominance in next month’s midterm elections, with wins appearing likely in some of the biggest states in the industrial Midwest.”
‘Making Education Central’
Even before the primaries were over, the Democratic National Committee declared that education would be “on the ballot” in the midterm elections, according to Education Week. The EdWeek reporter quotes a DNC source saying that Democratic candidates are “running and winning by making education central to their campaigns.” Subsequent Continue reading: Education May Propel the Blue Wave in DeVos Country
