It’s possible that the most consequential election for Democrats in the Aug. 18 Florida primaries was not the success of state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, in the U.S. Senate race, nor was it the success of two moderates in their respective U.S. House races. In fact, the most important race might not be about Congress at all.
In Sarasota County, candidates Beth Mayberry and Megan Tennimon defeated Republican-backed candidates in the school board election, meaning that the county, which was heavily influenced by Moms for Liberty, will have a Democratic majority in charge of local education.
Another Democrat, Jimmy Glover, will face a runoff against his Republican opponent in November.
The Moms for Liberty chapter rose to power after
the COVID-19 pandemic and tormented everyone who didn’t fall in line with their rigid beliefs about what education in public schools should look like. The group had been plagued by issues in recent years, including a sex scandal involving cofounder Bridget Ziegler, who sat on the school board. The scandal came to light after her husband was accused of sexual assault in 2023.
This win, albeit small, is a great sign for Democrats. While the party often loses sight of the fact that all politics are local, especially in GOP-heavy areas like Sarasota, the news that something has shifted is a sign that voters are tired of the Republican-led culture wars and looking for a return to some sort of normalcy.
American schools have long been a culture war battleground
Directly after the pandemic, school boards became the right's preferred battleground for the culture wars thanks to the rise of Moms for Liberty and activists determined to rid schools of anything that might be deemed "woke." What started with complaints about masking and critical race theory evolved into sharp attacks on gender identity and sex education, all under the guise of what was "appropriate" for children to learn.
By 2023, at least 32 state legislatures had introduced "Parents Bill of Rights," which sought to rid classrooms of conversations about gender. A law akin to those in the states passed in the U.S. House at the time but stalled in the Senate.
The fight over what children learn, and who they learn from, is still playing out in local communities. In Wake County, North Carolina, which I used to cover as a reporter, conversations are happening after a right-wing state representative posted about the hiring of an unnamed transgender teacher. In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, running for reelection, is trying to define vulgarity in schools to limit what books are available in their libraries.
In these situations, the people who lose out the most are the children.
This was an important political shift in our country, a moment when people, particularly parents, realized that what happens in their backyards is just as important as what’s happening in the Oval Office. This is especially important for Democrats to remember, because they have no national authority at this moment in time.
While it may be difficult for congressional Democrats to move the needle on certain issues, there are steps local leaders can take to affirm the humanity of their marginalized constituents. And, perhaps most important, so is the return to actual governance instead of the Republican insistence that everyone else is the problem.
Democrats need to be everywhere on the ballot
I think the election in Sarasota, alongside a school board win in Orange County, Florida, where a Democratic candidate also won the primary, is a sign that Democrats shouldn’t be so focused on winning statewide races that they forget to be present down the ballot.
In 2024, 70% of races in the United States were uncontested, according to nonpartisan advocacy group BallotReady. Two years later, according to elections database Ballotpedia, 68.3% of elections are uncontested, though this data is limited by the fact that some uncontested races get canceled.
We also don’t have a clear estimate of how these uncontested races are broken down by party – in New York City’s 2025 elections, 16 of the 51 city council seats were uncontested races, and most of the candidates in those races were Democrats.
The idea that Democrats should be running everywhere is easier said than done. It will take years of organizing in all areas of the country for them to have candidates down the ballot everywhere, and even more organizing to be able to win. But if Sarasota County is any indication, the payoff could be worth it.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky: @sarapequeno.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republican-led culture wars are losing where it matters most | Opinion
