25 DeSantis-Endorsed Florida School Board Candidates Won or Advanced in Tuesday Elections

LAKELAND, Fla.—Gov. Ron DeSantis was not challenged by a party rival in a Republican primary, so his name was not printed on any Aug. 23 ballot in any of Florida’s 67 counties.

But his name was all over elections across the state in the form of endorsements, particularly for candidates in local school board elections.

DeSantis, seeking reelection to a second term amid speculation about his presidential ambitions, endorsed 30 school board candidates across 19 counties.

According to Florida’s Secretary of State office, 19 won their races outright, and six are advancing to November runoffs.

The 30 endorsed candidates pledged to support the “DeSantis Education Agenda,” which limits discussions of sexuality or gender identity, bans “critical race theory” and “woke ideology,” and aims to make the school system “about education, not indoctrination.”

In breaking with century-long tradition, DeSantis became the first Florida governor to endorse and aggressively campaign for local school board candidates in traditionally nonpartisan, sleepy summer affairs of little note beyond immediate zip codes.

But the governor, who championed the state’s Parental Rights in Education law—dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by detractors—is spearheading the nationwide parents’ rights movement in Florida.

DeSantis told reporters after his Aug. 23 cabinet meeting that school board endorsements have been the province of unions and progressive groups that dominate the education industry.

He said his entry into these elections is on behalf of a constituency with little representation—parents.

“This is new, particularly for Republicans, because (it) had basically been unions would back candidates, and that would be it,” he said. “Now I think more parents are interested, some of our voters are interested.”

DeSantis is also targeting school boards because several defied his prohibitions on mask mandates and other restrictive COVID-19 measures. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), only Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Alabama

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