Moms for Liberty, a far-right extremist group formed in 2021 to fight against LGBTQ rights, COVID safety precautions, and discussions of race in the classroom, had been a growing influence in politics and education policy in North Carolina. In the past few years, the group led crusades against books by LGBTQ authors and people of color, advocated for trans bathroom bans in schools, and supported extremist candidates who elevated anti-CRT and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
After some success with their endorsed school board candidates in 2022, Moms for Liberty endorsed seven school board candidates this year in North Carolina, as well as the Republican candidate for State Superintendent, Michele Morrow, an anti-public schools crusader who famously called for the televised execution of President Obama.
Fortunately for the state of public education in North Carolina, voters rejected Morrow and five of the seven school board candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty.
In staunchly conservative Moore County, Morrow underperformed the other Republican candidates. And the Moms for Liberty-endorsed school board chair Robert Levy – who had used his tenure to approve policies forbidding discussion of “gender identity and gender fluidity,” restrict access to certain books, and ban teaching about structural racism – lost his reelection bid by almost 5 points.
In New Hanover County, Natosha Tew, the former chair of the Moms for Liberty’s chapter there, ranked last out of six candidates running for three seats on that county’s school board. Tew had gained notoriety for spreading conspiracy theories like the government controls the weather and embracing anti-government militia symbolism, and for her ties to January 6th.
Other candidates who lost include McKenzie Kelly, who campaigned on her “pro-God, pro-life stance” and “commitment to keeping our children safe from inappropriate materials” in Rowan County and Sheila Blower, who campaigned on removing “pornographic” books from school libraries in Davidson County.
And, it’s not just in North Carolina that it appears Moms for Liberty’s influence is waning, as voters tire of the endless focus on discriminatory and hateful “culture wars.” In Texas, even as the state swung eight points towards Trump, candidates backed by Moms for Liberty lost overwhelmingly.
