澳门跑狗论坛

Sand Springs, Okla.

In the first big election since teachers across the country walked out of their classrooms this spring, dozens of current teachers claimed state legislative seats鈥攋oining the policymaking bodies that greatly influence pay and funding for schools.

It was the culmination of months, if not years, of activism and advocacy for many of these educators, and yet the victory wasn鈥檛 clear-cut. While 42 teachers won, nearly 80 teachers鈥攐r two-thirds of those on the ballot鈥攍ost their legislative bids in Tuesday鈥檚 midterm elections, according to an 澳门跑狗论坛 analysis. And gubernatorial candidates who pushed for pumping more money into public schools were also defeated in Oklahoma and Arizona, leaving teachers there reeling.

鈥淚t could have cohered into a clear story鈥攁 wave story鈥攂ut in fact, it鈥檚 more of a patchwork,鈥� said Jeffrey Henig, the director of the program in politics and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. 鈥淭his will be disappointing to some folks who were very excited and envisioned a teacher wave.鈥�

How Teachers Fared on Election Day

澳门跑狗论坛 tracked current teachers running for state legislative seats. Browse our full list of teacher candidates and see their election results.

Still, educators remain hopeful that the tide is turning鈥攖hat after the series of teacher walkouts that swept the country, voters are paying more attention to education.

鈥淚 personally lost an endeavor that I chose to do, but the people of Oklahoma won because they have more advocates [in the legislature],鈥� said Angela Graham, a pre-K teacher who was defeated by the Republican incumbent in her race for Oklahoma鈥檚 House, but who saw a handful of fellow teachers win their legislative races in that state.

Back in the Classroom

Now, the dozens of teachers who lost have dusted themselves off and are back in the classroom. At Charles Page High School in Sand Springs, Okla., the day after the election, Michael Ross greeted his journalism students with a bit of self-deprecation: 鈥淵ou guys have the misfortune of being saddled with me the whole school year,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ast night, I did not emerge victorious.鈥�

His students had questions: What will he do with all the money he raised? Can they have his leftover campaign stickers? By what percentage did he lose the race? (Answer: Ross claimed 30.8 percent of the vote, while his opponent received 57.4 percent.)

Then, one student raised his hand: Was it hard?

Ross paused. He had filed to run for state House as a Democrat at the peak of the state鈥檚 nine-day walkout in the spring, fired up and ready to make a difference for public schools. But the truth is, the campaign was grueling. And his defeat was heartbreaking.

鈥淚 regret none of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat, because you guys are worth it,鈥� he told his students. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e been on the campaign trail since the beginning of April. 鈥� It鈥檚 very, very taxing in terms of your emotional fortitude.鈥�

There were likely similar conversations happening across the state. Just six current teachers were elected to office on Nov. 6, with 23 losing their races. Many others lost during the primary elections: At least 66 current teachers in Oklahoma had originally filed to run for state legislature. Even so, several other former teachers, , were ultimately elected to the state legislature.

Teachers won in other states that had experienced wide-scale demonstrations and walkouts in the spring, too. In West Virginia, three of the nine teachers in the general election were victorious Nov. 6. In Kentucky, 12 teachers lost, but three were elected. And in Arizona, one teacher won out of six on the ballot.

For public education advocates in Oklahoma and Arizona, however, those legislative victories were tempered by the gubernatorial elections. In both states, the Democrats backed by teachers lost their races鈥攊nstead, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey won re-election, and in Oklahoma, businessman Kevin Stitt triumphed over Drew Edmondson, the state鈥檚 former attorney general.

The results were a blow for the #RedforEd movement that swept the states after the walkouts. Ducey had clashed with teachers during Arizona鈥檚 strike, and Stitt has said that he would not have signed the revenue package that raised taxes to give Oklahoma teachers their first pay raise in a decade.

Still, at the Phoenix watch party for David Garcia, an education professor who challenged Ducey on a pro-school funding platform, defiant teachers pledged to keep fighting. And at the Tulsa County Democratic Party鈥檚 watch party, education supporters were hopeful that the teachers who claimed victory would serve as a check for Stitt.

Fresh off his victory, John Waldron, a high school social studies teacher who was elected to Oklahoma鈥檚 House as a Democrat, promised to hold Stitt accountable, along with other educators now in office.

鈥淸Teachers] want things to be better, and we expect our leadership to want the same things,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd when they don鈥檛, when they put us down, when they go after school funding, 鈥� we get a little emotional about that. And we work together to fight for our schools, for our kids, and for education.鈥�

鈥楲et鈥檚 Try This Again鈥�

While 澳门跑狗论坛 generally saw the highest numbers of teachers running for office in the states with activism this spring, there were current K-12 classroom teachers on the ballot for state legislature in more than half the country. (The National Education Association who are connected to education running for state legislative seats鈥攖hough that tally included former teachers, support staff, administrators, college professors, and others.)

Educators also ran for other offices. Most notably, in Connecticut, Jahana Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. And onlookers say that even though most teachers didn鈥檛 win their races, the door is open for continued political engagement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 quite possible that a lot of them, those who lost or those who were disappointed, will pick themselves up and say, 鈥榃ell, let鈥檚 try this again,鈥欌�� Henig said.

Indeed, teachers are already gearing up for 2020. At the Democrats鈥� watch party in Tulsa, Craig Hoxie, a science teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, said he had already made the decision to run again. He lost his state House race to an incumbent.

鈥淲e鈥檒l try this again. We鈥檙e going to follow John Waldron鈥檚 model,鈥� he said with a laugh. (Waldron, who made an unsuccessful bid to the state Senate in 2016, teaches at the same school as Hoxie.)

After all, Hoxie said, change is measured in 鈥渋ncremental gains.鈥�

Jennifer Samuels, a middle school teacher who lost her bid for a seat in Arizona鈥檚 state House, has also decided to run again.

鈥淚鈥檓 concerned about the future of public education in Arizona, having lost so many races that were a possible flip,鈥� said Samuels, a Democrat. 鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating to see that we鈥檙e going to have continuation of the same sort of politics鈥� that led to the walkout.

But she said teachers need to stay engaged in state politics. 鈥淲e picked up more seats than we should have in this very red district,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the long game for us.鈥�

Preparing for the Legislature

As for the teachers who won their races, they are now readying their policy proposals, hoping to put education back in focus in their state legislatures.

鈥淲e need to reinvest in our schools and our kids,鈥� said Cody Thompson, a high school social studies teacher who won his race for a seat in the West Virginia statehouse.

鈥淲e have schools where students haven鈥檛 had a certified math teacher their entire career,鈥� he said, and buildings that are in desperate need of upgraded technology.

Some newly elected teacher-lawmakers anticipate an uphill battle.

For R. Travis Brenda, a high school math teacher elected to the Kentucky state legislature, addressing the state鈥檚 underfunded pension system is top on his list of priorities. In the Republican primary, Brenda unseated House Majority Floor Leader Jonathan Shell, who co-authored the controversial pension law that spurred teacher protests across the state.

If the law, which has been contested in the state supreme court, is overturned, lawmakers are likely to make another push to limit pensions for the state鈥檚 workers, Brenda said.

鈥淎ll state employees have agreed to serve the state and work for a lower pay than if we were working in the private sector,鈥� he said. Protecting pensions is key to attracting high-quality teachers to the state, said Brenda.

Brenda, a Republican, met Democrats in his deep-red district who said they were voting for him because he supports public schools. Education, he said, shouldn鈥檛 be a partisan issue.

More Candidates Down the Road?

Even though teachers didn鈥檛 sweep the statehouses, several governors鈥� races indicated that education was an important issue for voters nationally, Henig said. He noted Democrat Tony Evers鈥檚 victory over incumbent Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, and Kansas Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach鈥檚 loss to Democrat Laura Kelly.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 attribute Kobach鈥檚 loss in Kansas to teacher activism, but the broad public unhappiness with the underfunding of education and other public services was a factor,鈥� he said.

Education was also central in the ousting of Walker鈥攖he governor who decimated teachers鈥� unions and slashed education funding. He was replaced by the state superintendent for education, a former teacher.

But the energy that teacher candidates brought in races for red-state legislatures couldn鈥檛 compete with the historical lack of political support for funding public education in those areas, said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

鈥淚t can鈥檛 just be a one-off with one person against a whole climate of a state,鈥� she said, adding that for more teachers to win in states like Oklahoma and Arizona, Democrats need to get more organized and build infrastructure for continued campaigns.

Going forward, Henig predicted, Democrats may be recruiting more teachers to run at the state and local levels.

And teachers say they鈥檙e not giving up the fight. 鈥淸The mixed results] means that we don鈥檛 get to rest,鈥� said Ross, the Sand Springs teacher who lost his legislative bid. 鈥淚t means that if we鈥檙e going to prove that these kids matter to us as much as they do, we鈥檝e got to keep punching.鈥�