Glenn Youngkin tapped into parents’ pandemic-era frustrations on his way to winning the Virginia governorship. Now fellow Republicans are betting big that they can also make education a winning midterm issue.
Youngkin started out as an underdog in a state where the GOP hasn't won statewide for nearly a decade. But Republicans say his frequent messaging on education, stoking parental worries about progressivism in the classroom while urging them to play a greater role in schools, helped him pull ahead while his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, stayed stuck in the past trying to tie Youngkin to Donald Trump.
House Republicans are moving quickly to capitalize on Youngkin’s invocation of education, including rolling out a "parental bill of rights" and making it a messaging centerpiece moving forward. The politics of learning was already on the GOP’s mind, with lawmakers saying parents’ eyes were opened to details of their children’s curricula during a pandemic that necessitated more online learning.
On the campaign trail, Youngkin tapped into parental frustration over school closures during Covid and framed the gubernatorial contest as a debate about whether parents had a right to be involved in their children’s education. In particular, the Republican seized on McAuliffe’s comment during a debate that “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach kids” — which quickly became a GOP talking point.
Rep. Lee Zeldin , who's seeking a governor’s seat in a state that has swung more blue than Virginia for years, said he too has witnessed voter enthusiasm for a greater focus on education. He described Youngkin’s win as further reinforcement of what he's already seen on the campaign trail. Despite their admission that Youngkin benefited from channeling voter dissatisfaction with education during the pandemic, Democrats have yet to propose a more specific response beyond passing the infrastructure and social spending bills that form the core of their domestic agenda.
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