This fall, as Republicans and Democrats battle it out for control of Congress, a growing number of conservative political action organisations are concentrating their efforts on local school boards.

In order to stem what they perceive to be a liberal tide in public education classrooms, libraries, sports fields, and even building plans, their goal is to take control of more school systems.

School board elections, once thought to be dull affairs with little interest outside of their communities, heated up last year as parents voiced their displeasure with pandemic policies. Right-leaning organisations are investing millions of dollars in candidates who promise to curtail instruction on issues of race and sexuality, remove offensive books from libraries, and reject plans for gender-neutral restrooms or transgender sports teams as those concerns become less important.

Republicans are portrayed by Democrats in their own campaigns as extremists who want to outlaw books and rewrite history.

The 1776 Project PAC, which was established last year to oppose the New York Times' 1619 Project, which offers free lesson plans that centre American history around slavery and its long-lasting effects, is at the centre of the conservative effort. In dozens of school districts across the United States last fall and this spring, the 1776 group was successful in electing conservative majorities to office. These candidates later removed superintendents and passed expansive "bills of rights" for parents.

The group is running for dozens of candidates this fall in the wake of recent victories in Texas and Pennsylvania. According to campaign finance filings, the group spent $2 million between April 2021 and this August. It is assisting 20 candidates throughout southern Michigan as well as those running in the counties of Frederick and Carroll in Maryland, Bentonville, Arkansas, and Bentonville.

In addition to winning in districts close to liberal strongholds like Philadelphia and Minneapolis, its candidates have also done well in areas that lean heavily red. And the group hopes to grow even more after this November.

"We've won in places we're not supposed to typically win," said Ryan Girdusky, the organization's founder. "I believe we can succeed again."

Recent school board elections in Florida saw an increase in support from conservative groups, some of which had never been involved in school elections.

Four candidates for the Polk County board received support from the American Principles Project, a Washington-based think tank, for a total of $25,000 in support. According to the group's leader, local activists encouraged the group to make its initial foray into school boards. The group is now debating whether to move on to other venues. Prior to the pandemic, the organization's average annual fundraising was less than $50,000; it is currently around $2 million.

The president of the think tank, Terry Schilling, declared, "We lean heavily into retaking federal power." But you won't have local allies there to actually reverse the policies that these guys have been enforcing if you don't also take over the neighbourhood school boards.


Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis backed a group of school board candidates, endorsing conservatives who share his opposition to teaching about sexuality and what he views as crucial race theory in a state-first move. Most of the DeSantis-backed candidates prevailed in their August contests, replacing conservatives who held views more moderate than those of the flamboyant governor in some cases.

The movement describes itself as a counterweight to teachers unions that lean left. They view the unions as a well-funded adversary that supports radical racial and sexual education in the classroom; one favourite smear is to refer to the unions as "groomers." The unions, which also back candidates, have referred to it as a fabrication created to foster mistrust of public education.

The 1776 group is supporting three school board candidates in Frederick County, Maryland, as opposed to four who have received education union endorsements. The conservatives are running under the banner of "Education Not Indoctrination," and one of their digital ads claims that schools are "holding captive" children. In the advertisement, stacks of books with the words "equity," "grooming," "indoctrination," and "critical race theory" are displayed.

A board candidate for re-election named Karen Yoho claimed that unofficial sources have stoked anxieties about critical race theory and other subjects that aren't covered in Frederick County schools.

In her community, discussion has largely remained civil, but Yoho objects to the charge that teachers are "grooming" kids.

Yoho, a retired teacher whose children attended the district, said, "I find it disgusting." My heart aches as a result. After that, I start to get angry and defensive.

Patriot Mobile, a wireless provider that supports conservative causes, has become a significant political player in school board elections in Texas. Out of the $800,000 it raised earlier this year, its political arm spent more than $400,000 supporting candidates in a few contests in the county where the business is based in northern Texas. Its preferred candidates all prevailed, giving conservatives control of four districts.

Requests for comment from the group went unanswered, but in a statement issued following the victories in the spring, it was stated that Texas was "just the beginning."

The emphasis on education, according to some GOP strategists, could backfire with more moderate voters. The 1776 Project claims a 70% win rate so far, but conservative candidates in some regions have struggled in recent elections.

However, it appears that the number of organisations that have united under the banner of parental rights is only increasing. Along with smaller grassroots organisations, it includes international organisations like Moms for Liberty.

The deliberate and concerted effort to integrate radical ideas about race and gender into the school day is met with very strong opposition. Parents dislike it, according to Jonathan Butcher, a fellow in education at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation.

The foundation and its political arm have been holding training sessions to entice parents to run for school boards. These sessions teach them the fundamentals of budgeting as well as the dangers of what the group considers critical race theory.

According to Jeffrey Henig, a political science and education professor at Columbia University's Teachers College who has written about outside spending in school board elections, education was long considered to be its "own little game" that was shielded from broader politics. Local races are now being used as forums for larger discussions, he claimed.

He claimed that while abortion and the economy will likely be the two issues that determine the outcome of the election in November, education can still be used to "amplify local discontent" and encourage voters to cast their ballots.

This fall, Republicans are employing the strategy in an effort to defeat Democrats at all levels of government.

The American Principles Project is funding television commercials in Michigan that criticise the Democratic governor and feature a narrator who reads pornographic passages from the graphic novel "Gender Queer." It states, "This is the kind of literature that Gretchen Whitmer wants your kids exposed to," and the words "stop grooming our kids" are displayed in huge red letters.

Similar TV commercials against Democratic candidates Gov. Janet Mills of Maine and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona are currently airing.

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