Gabrielle Russon
Four of the six School Board candidates endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won their runoffs in Tuesday’s election.
The victors included Mary Blanco winning in Miami-Dade County, Donna Brosemer in Volusia, Vanessa Chaviano in Lee and Matt Susin in Brevard.
For DeSantis, the General Election was a turnaround after many of his School Board picks faltered in the Primary. Only six of his 23 picks held victory parties the night of Aug. 20. Eleven were defeated, while the other six were forced into a November runoff.
Other progressive education groups and Democrats fighting conservative School Board candidates also celebrated their own election wins Tuesday.
Educated We Stand endorsed 17 Florida candidates this year. Ten won outright in their August Primary and five were forced into runoffs. Three of them — Anne Douglass and Joseph Geller in Miami-Dade, and Lynn Gray in Hillsborough — won on Tuesday.
“Tonight’s victories are a powerful reminder that Floridians value educators who prioritize evidence-based learning over divisive agendas,” said Jennifer Jenkins, the group’s founder. “Educated We Stand is grateful for these candidates’ courage and unwavering commitment to combating extremist rhetoric in our schools.”
Both DeSantis-backed Brosemer and Chaviano used the word “invaluable” to describe DeSantis’ support when asked how much they thought it played a factor in their win. The other four candidates who got his endorsement did not respond to a request for comment from Florida Politics.
“I’m incredibly grateful for his support,” Chaviano said after she beat two candidates on the ballot each by a 2-1 margin, getting about 47% of the vote. “His endorsement helped highlight my commitment to parental rights, educational excellence, and ensuring every student in our district has a path to success.”
Brosemer won with nearly 59% support in Volusia, where Trump carried the county with 60% of the vote.
“The voters had already shown by his huge reelection margin that they support his approach to education, so his endorsement of my campaign signaled to my district that his priorities are also my priorities,” Brosemer said. “Voters I met during early voting in particular, told me that his endorsement was the deciding factor for them in voting for me.”
Even though DeSantis and Democrats both jumped in to endorse School Board candidates, School Board races are officially nonpartisan on the ballot and will stay that way. Florida voters rejected a constitutional amendment to label the School Board races as partisan in Tuesday’s election. About 55% of voters approved Amendment 1, shy of the 60% share required to pass.
