Most school board candidates endorsed by anti-CRT PAC won their races, group says
An organization committed to electing conservative school board candidates across the United States says that most of its endorsed candidates won their races during the 2023 general election on Tuesday, disputing media reporting that claims otherwise.
In a statement posted to X Wednesday, 1776 Project PAC founder and president Ryan Girdusky rejected the assertion in an Associated Press article citing the American Federation of Teachers to claim that his organization and a similar organization, Moms for Liberty, saw 80% of their endorsed candidates lose their races.
Girdusky insisted that the 1776 Project PAC won 58% of our school board races Tuesday. Calling the AP claim "not true," Girdusky demanded a retraction.
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The article was updated Thursday to state that 70% of the two groups' endorsed candidates lost, noting that the organizations refute the tally.
Assuming all unofficial results hold, the 1776 Project PAC will have seen 68 of its 118 preferred candidates win during the 2023 general election, which amounts to a success rate of about 58%.
Excuse me @AP and @geoffmulvihill
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) November 9, 2023
This is not true. The @1776ProjectPac won 58% of our school board elections yesterday. We did not lose 80%.
We demand a retraction. pic.twitter.com/cMjvl1U1fj
The 1776 Project PAC describes itself as "a political action committee dedicated to electing school board members nationwide who want to reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history" that is "committed to abolishing critical race theory and 'The 1619 Project' from the public school curriculum."
It was one of several advocacy groups to pop up in response to concerns about the promotion of critical race theory elements by public schools as well as the presence of sexually explicit material in public school libraries and school curricula.
Heading into Tuesday's election, the organization urged voters living in states with school board elections to support the 118 candidates it endorsed as part of an effort to "stop the left-wing assault on our classrooms" in Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday, the 1776 Project PAC announced victories for its preferred candidates on X.
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— 1776 Project PAC (@1776ProjectPac) November 2, 2023
Election Day is on Tuesday and school boards all over America are on the ballot.
Here are all the states, candidates and districts in which our PAC is supporting candidates that will stop the left-wing assault on our classrooms.
Up first: Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/11jP98WYB5
"We supported 37 school board candidates in York County, Pennsylvania who were on the ballot yesterday. 36 of them won," the organization reported.
Three of the 1776 Project PAC's four endorsed candidates in the Dallastown School District won their seats, along with all five of its favored candidates in the Dover Area School District, all five of its endorsees in the Northeastern York School District, all four of its preferred candidates in the South Eastern School District and all four of its endorsed candidates in the Red Lion School District.
Additional successful candidates in York County were both of its endorsed school board hopefuls in the West York School District, all five of its favored candidates in the Southern York County School District, all five of the group's preferred candidates in the South Western School District and all four of its endorsees in the West Shore School District.
Outside of York County, the 1776 Project PAC did not have as much success in Pennsylvania. All of its endorsed candidates lost their races in the Avon Grove School District, the Perkiomen Valley School District and the Oxford Area School District.
Unofficial results show one of the group's two preferred candidates in the running for a school board seat in the Boyertown School District and two of its five endorsees securing enough votes to serve on the Upper Perkiomen School District's Board of Education.
In Virginia, where the battle for control of the state House of Delegates and state Senate absorbed much of the media focus, the 1776 Project PAC saw several of its favored school board candidates win.
The group's preferred candidates swept both school board races in Shenandoah County, both seats in Bedford County, won one of four seats on the Loudoun County School Board and secured a spot on the Roanoke County School Board.
Additionally, the group saw two of its three endorsed candidates in Mathews County emerge victorious in their races. With 83% of precincts reporting, unofficial results show one of two 1776 Project PAC-endorsed candidates winning a seat in Fluvanna County. Unofficial results also show all five of the 1776 Project PAC's endorsed candidates in Goochland County leading their challengers.
Similarly, all four of the organization's preferred candidates in New Kent County are ahead of their opponents. Both of the 1776 Project PAC's favored candidates in Powhatan County and both of its endorsed school board hopefuls in Isle of Wight County led their challengers by a wide margin.
On the other hand, unofficial results show 1776 Project PAC-endorsed candidates coming up short in Montgomery County and Chesterfield County while both of its favored school board hopefuls trail their challengers in Spotsylvania County.
While the ballot initiatives surrounding abortion and marijuana received most of the media attention in Ohio elections, the 1776 Project PAC also picked up a handful of additional seats in the state.
One of the group's two preferred candidates won a school board seat in Mentor Exempted Village School District while one of the organization's two preferred candidates won a race in Northwest Local School District in Hamilton County.
Also, the sole 1776 Project PAC endorsee in the Xenia Community City School District won a school board race.
1776 Project PAC-endorsed candidates failed to win their races in Hilliard City School District, Miamisburg School District, the North Royalton School District, Northwest Local School District in Stark County, the Plain Local School District and the Strongsville School District.
In Kansas, the 1776 Project PAC saw one of its two preferred candidates win a seat on the USD 469 Lansing School Board while one of its four endorsees secured a school board seat in Chanute Public Schools. All four favored candidates lost in the Blue Valley School District, while all three of its endorsed school board hopefuls came up short in the Baldwin City School Board (USD 348).
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
