In an interview, Governor Lombardo signals that school choice will be a 2024 campaign centerpiece for Republican candidates
By Megan Barth, The Nevada Globe, August 23, 2023
Appearing on the Kevin Wall radio show yesterday morning, Governor Joe Lombardo issued a warning to state Democrats that he will do “everything in his power” to campaign against the Democratic majority who blocked many of his legislative priorities, including school choice– a centerpiece of his State of the Union address and his succesful 2020 campaign.
Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, who joined Lombardo on the campaign trail in 2020, proved that Democratic monopolies can be broken when parents are involved and included in the policies affecting their child’s education.
In his State of the State address, the Governor noted, “for the first time, parents will have an advocate inside government promoting the expansion of school choice in Nevada.” Although Lombardo had many advocates in and outside of government, his priorities hit a partisan brick wall.
In Senate Minority Leader Heidi Gansert’s words, Republican priorities were met with “disregard, disdain and dismissal.” Likewise, parents and the children who are trapped in a failing public school due to their zip code, have also been treated with disregard, disdain and dismissal by the Democratic majority.
In 2022, Republicans were not lifted to statewide power by a predicted red wave, but the midterm election marked a seismic shift in local school boards and legislatures across the country. This school choice wave wasn’t predicted by polls but due to parents who disrupted and defeated the union-backed Democratic monopoly through the ballot box.
Outside of Nevada, 2023 was the year for school choice advocates, parents and students across the country as nearly 20 states passed measures either establishing or expanding upon school choice options due to an increase in parental demand.
According to a recent poll from RealClear Opinion Research, which surveyed 1,000 registered voters from June 27-30, 2023, the concept of school choice enjoys overwhelming support (71% vs. 13% opposed), a 7% increase from 2020.
This is true across party lines, with 66% of Democrats, 80% of Republicans, and 69% of Independents saying they support such a policy. Additionally, 70% of Asian, 73% of Black, 71% of Hispanic, and 71% of White voters support school choice.
Predating the Governor’s vow to Wall, the Better Nevada PAC launches a series of targeted tweets against vulnerable state Democrats asking voters to remember the names of Democratic legislators who blocked funding for opportunity scholarships for hundreds of low-income families.
Governor Lombardo signals that school choice will be a 2024 campaign centerpiece for GOP candidates as statewide Republicans aim to thwart a Democratic supermajority in the senate and end the Democratic supermajority in the assembly. Capitalizing on this nationwide school choice trend, and with the Governor’s support, parents will have a choice in their child’s education if they vote accordingly.