2 Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates fall to Pinellas School Board incumbents while another heads to runoff

Of the three Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates running for Pinellas County School Board, none of them have secured seats on the dais, at least not Primary Election Day.

Incumbents Laura Hine and Eileen Long secured victory over their challengers Tuesday night, while the race for an open seat will head to a runoff in November.

According to Tuesday’s unofficial results, Hine led Danielle Marolf with 69% of the vote. Long also had a lead too large to bridge, at 55% over her challenger, Erika Picard.

And in District 5, Moms for Liberty candidate Stacy Geier led a three-way race with 37% of the vote. Katie Blaxberg is in a solid second, with 35% of the vote. A liberal candidate, Brad DeCorte, trailed with just 28%.

Three of seven Pinellas County School Board seats were up for election this year, with Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates running in all of them. Had at least two won, the Board would have had a majority of far-right members directing priorities for one of the state’s largest School Districts.

Contests for Districts 1, 4 and 5 were on the ballot this year, including incumbents Hine and Long seeking re-election in Districts 1 and 4, respectively. Carol Cook, who currently represents District 5, did not seek re-election and three candidates ran to replace her.

Candidates backed by either Moms for Liberty or other aligned conservative groups are running in all three districts. All of them ran with support from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The election came at a time when School Boards throughout the nation are being targeted in ways rarely seen in the past, as conservative powers push a so-called “parental rights” agenda that has led to criticism over book bans, restrictions on LGBTQ+ students and what some describe as revisionist history.

District 1 (at large)

Hine managed to hold onto her seat for another term, likely helped by her ability to raise a ton of money, more than School Board races typically attract. 

“I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of support that we received during the campaign – volunteers, donors, friends and family. We communicated about the impact of public education on our community and nation, and laid out a vision of excellence and opportunity for every child,” Hine said in a post-election statement. “The support is not for me personally, but for that vision and I am committed to working every day to continue improving education outcomes for Pinellas students.”

The current Chair, Hine, was one of two School Board members in the district DeSantis targeted to unseat this year. 

She bested Marolf. Marolf had, during public appearances, discussed the need to “flip” the School Board, a term she hasn’t defined but that typically means replacing one political party advantage with another. While School Board races are nonpartisan, in this case it would have been akin to flipping the Board red.

Marolf also publicly told supporters she wanted to bring conservative and religious values to schools, while repeating oft-cited complaints from GOP leaders about liberal indoctrination in schools, typically attributed to things like critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion-type programs. Marolf, in particular, expressed support for removing books she deems pornographic from school libraries.

Controversies over book bans throughout the state have been ongoing since at least 2022, with books addressing issues facing LGBTQ students or students from LGBTQ families often targeted.

Hine, meanwhile, avoided the culture war arguments surrounding public education and focused her campaign on “the success of all students in Pinellas County and excellence across our schools.” She ran on a platform that emphasized literacy, early education, middle school potential, robust workforce pathways, and harnessing technology while also mitigating any potential negative impacts on youth and society.

Hine is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in aerospace engineering. Throughout her tenure — she was elected to the School Board in 2020 — she has focused on student experience and achievement, including creating a new three-year strategic plan and increasing salaries for teachers.

While Marolf publicly stated during campaign events support for issues that align with Moms for Liberty and other conservative groups, voters would be forgiven for missing that rhetoric on her campaign website. There, Marolf listed a series of nonpartisan priorities, including keeping students and teachers safe, involving parents in their children’s learning, advocating for teachers through better pay and a higher sense of value, supporting trades education and prioritizing critical thinking.

While money isn’t the only indicator in an election, Hine had a major cash edge in the race. As of Aug. 2, she raised nearly $185,000. Marolf, meanwhile, raised more than $52,000 as of the same date.

District 4

First elected in 2016, Long bested conservative challenger Picard. Long was one of two candidates this cycle DeSantis targeted, but she has survived the attack. 

While Picard ran in alignment with the other two conservative candidates this cycle, often aligning with Moms for Liberty, she didn’t always wind up on the same side as the other far-right challengers.

Specifically, Picard supported a districtwide tax referendum on the November ballot, which would double the current $1 per $1,000 of assessed property value to fund employee bonuses and expanded arts and technology programming in the School District. Marolf and the District 5 conservative candidate, Geier, do not support the referendum, though they do support the goals it would fund.

Long holds a degree in special education, with additional certifications in English as a second language and reading. She was a teacher for 34 years, including in Hillsborough County for the first two years and the remaining 32 in Pinellas County. Her focus as an educator was on middle school, teaching students with special needs and in dropout prevention programs.

Long was endorsed by the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and, in its recommendation for her this election, the Tampa Bay Times called her “a sensible thinker who blends her classroom experience with straightforward decision-making.”

The Times also praised Picard’s service as an educator, but criticized her for comments on the campaign trail claiming students are identifying as cats and requesting litter boxes in classrooms, a talking point mocking transgender and nonbinary individuals that has not been substantiated.

The Times recommendation in down-ballot races such as School Board, where voters may not be as well informed on the candidates, is typically a big deal, and it was enough to undo Picard’s money advantage. She raised more than $42,000 as of Aug. 2, compared to just under $28,000 raised by Long.

Picard has worked in Pinellas public schools as a substitute teacher, an exceptional student education teacher and a school counselor, including stints at Dunedin Middle School, Seminole High School, Clearwater High School, Dunedin High School and Palm Harbor University High School, where she still serves. She holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and a master’s degree in school counseling.

District 5

Geier and Blaxberg will head to a runoff, after neither reached the 50% plus one vote threshold needed to win outright in the Primary.

With Cook retiring from office, this was the only School Board race this year that was open, and it was the only race with the possibility of a runoff in November.

Geier, like Marolf and Picard, had support from DeSantis. She also had nods from conservative firebrand, U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, both of the School Board’s current conservative members — Stephanie Meyer and Dawn Peters — Republican state Sen. Nick DiCeglie, Republican state Rep. Berny Jacques and others. A cabinet contractor by trade, she ran in alignment with Moms for Liberty, including with an emphasis on student safety and parental rights.

Blaxberg, a registered Republican, overcame criticism from members of the GOP for flip-flopping. She was briefly registered as a Democrat after becoming disillusioned by former President Donald Trump and his rhetoric toward women. In an interview with Florida Politics, Blaxberg explained her party inconsistency, attributing her foray into the Democratic Party to trauma from herself being a survivor of sexual assault.

The party affiliation was important because District 5 leans conservative, with a more than 14,000 voter advantage for the GOP.

Blaxberg, who enjoyed support from Republican Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, who she once served as a legislative aide, relied on a moderate campaign — which emphasized the importance of parental involvement and school choice — to attract conservative voters who didn’t necessarily align with the more extreme Moms for Liberty messaging.

DeCorte had longer odds from the start. While he has an impressive résumé — he spent the last 22 years teaching English at Tarpon Springs Middle School and is a Navy veteran — his political affiliation proved a liability in the conservative district.

And DeCorte was far behind in funding. As of Aug. 2 he had raised just over $10,000 and had less than $7,000 remaining for a final push. Meanwhile, Blaxberg raised more than $42,000 and had about $16,000 on hand while Geier raised $44,000 and had $21,000 left in the bank.