Moms for Liberty’s Endorsed Candidates Got Trounced. Here’s Why.
Over a year ago, it became clear to me that extremist organization Moms for Liberty was gearing up to establish a foothold in Anchorage, so it hardly came as a shock when I was approached about managing a school board campaign. This was, in many ways, a natural extension of the Blue Alaskan ethos: to counter far-right narratives and champion the election of rational, capable candidates.
Now that the municipal election cycle has come to a close, I am looking forward to taking some much-needed time to recover from my recent heart attack. But before I do that, here's a short overview of what led to Anchorage School Board incumbents achieving some of the widest margins observed in one-on-one school board races in years. It's not rocket science.
The Slog
Any campaign faces its own challenges but in contrast to Anchorage Assembly elections, where races are confined to specific districts, school board elections extend across the entire municipality. This means candidates are running a campaign the same in scope as that of a mayoral race, yet without the same level of attention, resources, staff, or support.
The overwhelming rejection of Moms for Liberty endorsed school board candidates Kay Schuster and Chelsea Pohland was a clear message from voters that is impossible to ignore. According to the most recent unofficial election results, Carl Jacobs is winning his race by 14 points and Pat Higgins by 10. That's pretty incredible because in today's climate, where schools can too quickly become a battleground for partisan ideologies, voters have drawn a line in the sand, ensuring classrooms will be kept free from the grasp of polarizing culture wars, political partisan agendas, and the shadows of extremism.
The 2024 municipal election cycle actually began a little more than a year ago when an anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed activist shared confabulations about the book 'Let's Talk About It' at a February meeting of the Anchorage School Board. His utterly false assertions made during and after the meeting led to board members receiving death threats from around the state and country.
Since the events of last February, the activist and other grown "adults" belonging to the far-right arm of the Alaska Republican Party, including Rep. Jamie Allard, have dedicated their time to attacking Democrats and left-leaning politicians while also slandering educators, librarians, and school officials by falsely accusing them of being "groomers."
Although the use of such deranged messaging during the campaign proved ineffective, it made clear to voters who Moms for Liberty were and what they and their endorsed candidates stood for. Interestingly, individuals who have been called sexual child abusers by Moms for Liberty are now threatening the extremist organization with legal action over their malicious and demonstrably false claims.
Tellingly, the far-right tends to ignore when the FBI and Anchorage Police Department arrest several conservative members of a prominent Facebook group for crimes ranging from child pornography, sexual assault, storming the Capitol, and felony stalking. I suspect that turning a blind eye to the actions of their own, including violent domestic abusers and transphobes charged with indecent exposure, risks damaging their delusional belief system, which falsely claims that Democrats are pedophiles cannibalizing infants in the basement of a pizza parlor.
Anyway, back to the thing, Moms for Liberty and their supporters have deployed false and disgusting rhetoric about LGBTQ people and their allies for years. Their ongoing disinformation campaign painting school board members as groomers is central to their playbook of working to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation and discriminatory school policies by eroding faith in the public education system and those who work to make the lives of children and teachers better.
Case in point: Even after deleting hundreds of posts from their social media accounts, Anchorage activist Jay McDonald continues in his maligned quest to inflict reputational damage, writing in a Facebook post this month that school board member Carl Jacobs was a "NAMBLA candidate."
In another example, former legislative candidate Joel McKinney, who promoted Moms for Liberty's endorsed candidate Kay Schuster, spent much of his time this election cycle repeatedly commenting on a school board campaign account, sharing anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and memes depicting violent rhetoric, hate speech, and swastikas.
In one such meme, McKinney accused progressives and Democrats of working toward the normalization of cannibalization and pedophilia. In another, he depicts a swastika wrapped in rainbow flags, and in others too disturbing to share here, repeatedly used the words "faggot" and "retard."
Extremism is so Yesterday
Our school board has competent people who genuinely want to improve educational outcomes and support educators and families. They understand policy, engage with the community, and shun divisive partisan politics because they know that doing otherwise isn't in the best interest of our city. It's a stark contrast with the priorities of the MatSu Borough School District School Board, which is getting ready to learn some hard truths.
The best Anchorage conservatives can muster are unqualified candidates endorsed by an outside organization whose mission is to ban library books, promote lower 48 culture wars, and pass discriminatory policies that would negatively impact the most diverse school system in the country. They are bad on policy, lack a basic understanding of how the school district functions, refuse to attend community council meetings, and consequently, have literally no grasp of the needs of students and families.
The simple fact is that conservatives aren't winning school board elections because they are completely disconnected from the realities associated with modern-day public education. It's a detachment that undermines their electoral appeal and fails to demonstrate to voters that they understand the concerns of all students, parents, and educators alike. They need only look back at the last few Assembly election results to understand that voters are tired of the rhetoric and looking for leaders willing to roll up their sleeves and do the hard, thankless work they were elected to do.
The voters have spoken: they want action, not just words, and certainly not the rehashing of divisive, national debates that distract from the real issues at hand. Those who win elections are the ones who show up, listen, and commit to making substantial improvements for all students and families, proving through their efforts that they truly value the institution and communities they serve.
