Ron DeSantis endorsees flop in Hillsborough County School Board races

Stock image via Adobe

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida GOP saw their hopes dashed Tuesday night after two of their endorsed Hillsborough County School Board candidates lost their Primaries.

Two Democrats kept their seats with backing from the Florida Democratic Party after DeSantis endorsed their challengers. Henry “Shake” Washington, the District 5 incumbent, won without a big party endorsement.

The battle over nonpartisan School Boards was a last-ditch effort from the Governor’s administration to reignite his fizzling parental rights movement.

Nadia Combs and Jessica Vaughn, both incumbents targeted for defeat by DeSantis and Moms for Liberty, told Florida Politics their wins send a message — residents want School Board races to be about schools, not party politics.

“People are burnt out on those regurgitated talking points,” Vaughn said. “I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time. …There were a lot of people who ran pro-education, pro-educators and teachers. It seems like overwhelmingly that’s what our state is valuing.”

She and Combs are both against the November amendment to make School Board races partisan.

“I taught social studies for 12 years. My students never knew if I was a Republican or a Democrat because my job was to teach critical thinking,” Combs said. “It’s not always going to be about money and power and influence.”

Here is a rundown of how all the races shook out Tuesday.

District 1

Combs will hold onto her job after earning 53% of the vote over DeSantis-endorsed Layla Collins (36%) and openly conservative Julie Magill (10%).

A former teacher who owns a tutoring center, Combs outspent by Collins but had her own support from the Florida Democratic Party. The win is reminiscent of her triumph over highly-funded Republican incumbent Steve Cona in 2020.

She supports the property tax and stands by the closing of six under-enrolled schools in the district last year. Combs initiated an early learning task force last year, and wants to expand technical and vocational training.

District 3

Vaughn defeated her DeSantis-backed challenger Myosha Powell with 59% of the vote.

A former teacher and the School Board’s Vice Chair, she supports the property tax and voted against the school closings. She wants to expand North Hillsborough’s access to Montessori, IB magnets and community schools as well as middle school sports, she told Patch.

Educated We Stand, a group pushing back against conservative efforts to take over School Boards, supported Vaughn.

“I am incredibly proud of the success our endorsed candidates have achieved,” said Jennifer Jenkins, founder and Chair of Educated We Stand.

“In a time where our public education system faces immense challenges from well-funded far-right efforts to impose conservative ideology on our schools, these victories affirm the public’s support for leaders committed to diversity of thought, inclusivity, and fact-based education. Our mission to protect and empower our students with the knowledge they need to lead informed, successful lives remains more important than ever.”

District 5

Washington defended his seat from retired county teacher and assistant principal Kenneth Gay, activist and preacher Elvis Piggott and write-in candidate Tamara Shamburger.

Washington took more than 60% of the vote, compared to Gay at 25%, Piggott at 14%, and write-ins totaling less than 2%.

Shamburger, who previously held the seat, lost to Washington in 2020. She challenged his win in court, claiming he wasn’t qualified to run, but lost an appeal.

District 7

Incumbent Lynn Gray, a longtime teacher, and openly conservative challenger Karen Bendorf head into a runoff, because no candidate exceeded the 50% threshold needed to win outright. Gray earned 35% of the vote and Bendorf took a little over 30%.

Johnny Bush, a former principal at Robinson and Plant High Schools, and Jen Flebotte, the other conservative candidate, are out of the race with less than 25% and less than 10% of the vote respectively.