Traditional Democratic strongholds are funneling cash into GOP campaigns — here’s why
March 15, 2024
A new investigation from Daily Signal Investigative journalist Tony Kinnett has led to the discovery of notoriously leftist teachers unions systemically pouring vast amounts of funding into GOP political candidates.
These unions, NEA and AFT, have a long history of being major donors to Democratic campaigns, so the question becomes — what changed?
Recent AIM investigations have uncovered school districts fraught with anti-school-choice sentiments and deceptive DEI campaigns. School officials were caught on camera actively lying to parents about what is going on in their children’s classrooms. With the major backlash these topics face from parents and concerned citizens, progressive officials and entities have had to drive their efforts in more subversive ways.
The strategy of these unions is simple: If you’re a progressive organization that operates in republican majority jurisdictions, you want the Republican that will advance your agenda the most to win.
This is exactly what’s been happening in states like Indiana, Texas, Illinois, and Tennessee, where Republican candidates elected with the help of teachers unions vote against party lines consistently on education issues.
Indiana State Sen. Ron Alting received $42,500 from the Indiana teachers union. In April 2023, Alting voted with two other Republicans against House Bill 1608, which would not only prohibit educators’ discussions of sexuality in pre-kindergarten through third grade, but mandate schools to report student requests for pronoun changes to parents within five business days.
Alting himself posted proudly on Twitter in 2018, stating in a thread:
“As most of you know, I am a proud product of our area public school systems. During my time in the Indiana General Assembly, I have fought on behalf of our educators, putting aside party politics and working across the aisle to do what is right for our children…As such, I am humbled and honored to have been endorsed again by the @AFTIndiana, the Wabash River Valley Indiana Political Action Committee for Educators (ISTA), and former Superintendent of Lafayette Schools Ed Eiler.”
Another politician, Thomas Mehaffie III (R-106), received $97,000 from teachers unions. In 2021, the Republican was one of eight representatives to vote against a school choice initiative. Furthermore, Mehaffie has a history of voting with Democrats in favor of several pro-union bills allowing more money to be collected and put into politicians pockets.
This problem has reached a critical point in states like Alabama, where teachers unions are outspending Republican donors, where according to the Alabama Policy Institute the unions spent more than $1 million to help moderate Republicans win state congressional races.
As teachers unions oust more robust opponents of DEI and pro-school-choice candidates, the fight for America’s schools becomes more critical. By exposing and revealing to the world the truth behind teachers unions and rogue school districts evading laws, parents and citizens can begin to fight back.