How Bernie Sanders Became Teachers' Favorite Candidate | HuffPost

How Bernie Sanders Became Teachers' Favorite Candidate | HuffPost

How Bernie Sanders Became Teachers’ Favorite Candidate
Far more teachers are donating to the Vermont senator than any other presidential candidate, new data shows.

Katie Nash has been a fan of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) since she saw him speak at a local political rally in the lead up to the 2016 election, but she was careful not to get her hopes up. Though his worldview aligned with hers, she suspected others might find his progressive ideals unrealistic and lofty. She didn’t think he had a chance of gaining widespread support as a presidential candidate. 

That changed in 2018, when she and around 20,000 other teachers in Arizona participated in a statewide walkout over issues of school funding and low pay. Nash ― who had never previously donated to or caucused for a politician ― described it as a political awakening. Seeing thousands of fellow teachers fighting alongside her for better schools made her realize that maybe she and her neighbors had more in common than she thought. 

Ever since the walkout, Nash, a teacher of 14 years, told HuffPost she “hasn’t stopped doing something.” In the lead up to 2020, she has donated to the Sanders campaign, hosted a house party to drum up enthusiasm and participated in organizing calls. 

“Seeing what’s possible with grassroots allayed my doubts about his campaign,” said Nash, who is now president of her local union chapter.  

Nash is one of many teachers who seem to be “feeling the Bern.” Far more K-12 teachers are donating to Sanders than any other candidate. From Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019, teachers have donated over $2 million to the candidate, according to data provided to HuffPost by the Center for Responsive Politics. They are his top group of donors by profession, followed by servers, bartenders and cooks, and then nurses and caregivers, according to his campaign. 

Sanders has also received notable endorsements from large, influential teachers unions, like United Teachers Los Angeles and the Clark County Education Association.

While former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D - Mass.) previously led an internal poll conducted by the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s CONTINUE READING: How Bernie Sanders Became Teachers' Favorite Candidate | HuffPost