Several Florida county school districts have lost their more conservative board members, signaling a potential shift away from the partisan politics that dominated previous elections.
In Tuesday night's primaries, Sarasota, Hernando and Pasco counties saw moderate and Democrat-backed candidates win, ousting incumbents and beating newcomers with ties to the far-right group Moms for Liberty.
The conservative organization once held major sway in school board elections, but it’s since lost momentum at the local level.
Without the group’s financial backing and endorsements from the governor, political experts said elections this year have strayed away from the broader culture war issues that turned schools into political battlegrounds.
Instead, candidates are focused more on universal concerns such as technology in classrooms, teacher pay and private school vouchers.
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"I think that's somewhat shifted the debate a little bit towards what is maybe a more neutral policy area," said Sean Freeder, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Florida and director of Public Opinion Research Lab.
In the last several years, topics that ruled school board politics included book bans, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and Critical Race Theory.
Now, Freeder said screen time and the use of Artificial Intelligence are some of the more pressing issues concerning parents.
"That really wasn't a headline top issue a few years ago, but I think it is now," said Freeder, "It's come up within both parties, so I think that does change the dynamic of the races."
Susan McManus, a retired USF professor of political science, said the parental rights movement, which was galvanized by debates during the COVID-19 pandemic, have since faded.
McManus said families are starting to focus more on "things that directly affect the quality of life of the child and their family," including excessive screen time, a demand for recess and having healthy social interactions.
A breakdown of school board races
Two Democrat-backed candidates won the Sarasota school board, flipping the conservative majority that's been in place since 2022.
The district's third race is headed to a runoff after Bridget Ziegler, Moms for Liberty co-founder, did not seek reelection. Her third and final term was marked by a sex scandal involving her husband and another woman, who accused him of sexual assault.
In Hernando County, longtime educator and retired principal Dana Pearce, who was endorsed by the state's teachers union, unseated District 1 incumbent Michael Johnson, a staunch critic of DEI and Critical Race Theory.
Hernando's district 5 race is headed to a runoff between three-term incumbent Susan Duval, a registered Democrat, and newcomer Kara Champion, who received an endorsement from longtime Republican Congressman Gus Bilirakis.
Champion, who is the daughter of Hernando County Commissioner Steve Champion, received three votes more than Duval.
The county’s District 3 incumbent Shannon Rodriguez, who was backed by Moms for Liberty in 2022, handily won her reelection bid against her Democrat-backed opponent.
Pasco County school board's District 5 incumbent Megan Harding easily held onto her seat against opponent Michelle Mandarin, an activist affiliated with the Republican Party's “patriot wing,” who uses the moniker “Mama Bear For Liberty” on social media.
“There's been a backlash, and some of those conservative candidates are losing.”Aubrey Jewett, UCF political science professor
In the county's District 1 race, Kimberly Coward, a registered Democrat, will face off against Gino Collura, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to the Pasco-Hernando State College Board of Trustees.
Coward pulled ahead of Collura by nearly 5 percentage points in the primary.
In Manatee County, Camden Bedinghaus, a Turning Point USA director, is headed to a runoff for the District 5 seat against Jonathan Mullis, a physical therapist and president of the Bradenton Kiwanis Club.
A numbers game?
Freeder said, for some races with more than two candidates, he reads them as more of a numbers game than a rejection of conservative politics.
For example, in Sarasota’s District 1 race to replace Ziegler, the two Republican-backed candidates essentially had to “chase the same share of voters,” said Freeder. Meanwhile, Jimmy Glover, the only registered Democrat in the race, who won a plurality of votes, was able to “walk the middle.”
Glover may face more fierce competition from his opponent in the November general election.
“For now, I think it's a bit of a game of math and strategy,” said Freeder.
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Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, said he’s starting to see the conservative movement lose power in his districts.
In one of the more high profile races, a Democrat won the Orange County school board chair against a Mom’s for Liberty member.
And, in Seminole County, which Jewett said has traditionally been a very Republican county, turned more purple in the last few elections. In Tuesday’s primary, all three of the school board candidates who were endorsed by the local Democratic Party won their race.
“There's been a backlash, and some of those conservative candidates are losing,” said Jewett.
In 2022, Ron DeSantis endorsed over two dozen local school board elections and “took the unprecedented step of removing and appointing school board members.” This year, the governor made no local school board endorsements as he finishes out his last term.
Jewett said he doesn’t believe politics will leave school board races entirely. Political parties have and will continue to be involved in certain races.
But, he said, at least in the current cycle, it’s “not quite as overtly partisan as when Governor DeSantis was making endorsements.”
In 2024, voters rejected an initiative backed by the governor, to make school board elections partisan. If it passed, each candidate’s party would have been listed next to their name on the ballot. And, like in other partisan races, voters would only be able to vote for the candidate within their registered party during primaries.
“Floridians had a chance to vote and change the constitution … but Florida voters refused to do that,” said Jewett.
