Tough lessons: Teachers fall short in midterm races

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After falling short in her race for the state legislature, high school history teacher Jenny Urie returned to her central Kentucky classroom, suddenly doubtful of just how far a grassroots uprising to bolster public education could go.

As massive walkouts over teacher salaries and school funding inspired many teachers to run for office, Urie was among at least 36 current and former educators on the ballot for the legislature in Kentucky. Two-thirds of them lost.

"Maybe," she said, "people are not as concerned about the future of public education as we might have thought they were. Maybe it hasn't hit them in their homes yet."

For educators who ran for office in states including Kentucky, Arizona and West Virginia that saw teachers converge on capitols this year, there were some successes but also disappointments. Still, advocates say, the movement will have lasting effects after pushing education onto the agenda of many midterm campaigns.

Many candidates who won held themselves out as champions of public education, and the teachers union will be watching to ensure they live up to their pledges, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association.

"Promises were made to the public about commitments to those public school students, and we will be keeping score on who was for kids and who was just kidding, and that is going to make a huge difference in 2020," she said.

Advocates pointed to bright spots in the election results.

Wisconsin state schools Superintendent Tony Evers ousted Gov. Scott Walker, on whose watch teachers and other public workers lost nearly all collective bargaining power. Connecticut elected 2016 National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes to Congress. Democrat Tim Walz, who spent 20 years teaching and coaching high school, won the Minnesota governor's race, and math teacher Julie Blaha, a Democrat, was elected that state's auditor.

Speech pathologist Kathy Hoffman, a Democrat, declared victory Sunday over Republican Frank Riggs in the race to become Arizona's superintendent of public instruction, though the race remained too close to officially call, and four school principals or administrators were elected to the Oklahoma House.