Candidates supported by 1776 Project PAC flip control of 3 school boards
School board candidates affiliated with a parental rights organization opposed to “political indoctrination” won several races Tuesday night as concerns about the trajectory of public education persist in American politics.
The 1776 Project PAC, which works to elect “reform-minded conservatives who oppose political indoctrination and believe in parental rights, safe and secure schools, fiscal transparency, improving educational standards, promoting transparency, and reversing pandemic-related learning loss” to school boards across the United States, highlighted the success of its preferred candidates following the 2024 general election.
The advocacy organization achieved particular success in Maryland, where victories by its endorsed candidates led to three school boards flipping from majority progressive to majority conservative.
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In Calvert County, 1776 Project PAC-backed candidates Melissa Goshorn, Paul Harrison and Joe Marchio, all of whom won their school board races.
In Somerset County, the group’s endorsed candidates Mary Beth Bozman and Matthew Lankford were elected to the school board. In Talbot County, 1776 Project PAC endorsed Ann O’Connor and Karla Wieland-Cherry who secured seats on the school board.
Unofficial results compiled by the state of Maryland show one of the 1776 Project PAC’s endorsed candidates in Allegany County, Crystal Bender, winning a seat on the school board. The group’s favored candidate for a seat on the Caroline County School Board, Stefanie Johnson, is overwhelmingly winning her race and the organization’s endorsee in Garrett County, Matthew Trezise, appears on track for a school board seat there.
However, both of the group’s preferred candidates in Cecil County and all three such candidates in St. Mary’s County are coming up short. While 1776 Project PAC-backed Carrie Sutherland won a seat on the Queen Anne’s County School Board unopposed, the other candidate endorsed by the group in the county is running behind his opponent.
In Arizona, official results from the 2024 election are expected to take several days to finalize. Unofficial results show 1776 Project PAC-endorsed candidates Kim Fisher and Karen Pack winning school board seats in the Deer Valley Unified School District, while the group’s third endorsed candidate is on track to get shut out.
A similar situation is playing out in the Gilbert Unified School District, where 1776 Project PAC-backed Blake Robison and Shana Murray are favored to win school board seats as the group’s third endorsee is finishing behind the frontrunners. Only one of the 1776 Project PAC’s three preferred candidates in the Higley Unified School District, Sara Jarman, is on track to win a seat on the school board.
All three of the 1776 Project PAC’s endorsed candidates in the Paradise Valley Unified School District are coming up short as are both of the organization’s preferred candidates to serve in the Scottsdale Unified School District. Meanwhile, the group’s endorsed candidates Janelle Bowles, Becky Proudfit and Jeffrey Tobey are leading as they seek to win school board seats in the Peoria Unified School District.
In Florida, unofficial results show the 1776 Project PAC’s preferred candidates appearing on the general election ballot in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County coming up short, while the group announced in an X post that its favored candidate in Miami-Dade County, Mary Blanco, emerged victorious in her school board race.
The 1776 Project PAC was one of several advocacy groups to emerge in 2021, as concerns about the inclusion of critical race theory, LGBT ideology and sexually explicit material in public school curriculum and libraries emerged amid the lockdowns imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These concerns have prompted some states, including Florida, to pass legislation banning the discussion of topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity with public school children unless it is directly related to health education that parents have the ability to opt their children out of.
A group of parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, that sued the school district for the ability to opt their children out of LGBT-related lessons is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their case in an attempt to advance the cause of parental rights in education nationwide.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
