If you haven’t heard the news, the Republican majority in the Georgia House of Representatives Republican just increased by one. Democratic State Rep. Mesha Mainor, representing a heavily Democratic district in Atlanta, will be switching parties. Her official departure comes after her side of the aisle crucified her for promoting school choice (via Fox News):
A Peach State lawmaker who angered her Democratic colleagues in the Georgia state House of Representatives over her support for a recent school choice bill has announced she is officially switching parties.
Mesha Mainor – a Democrat who has represented District 56 in the Georgia state House since January 2021 – announced the decision shortly before noon Tuesday that she will switch her party registration to Republican.
"When I decided to stand up on behalf of disadvantaged children in support of school choice, my Democrat colleagues didn’t stand by me," Mainor explained of her decision in a statement to Fox News Digital. "They crucified me. When I decided to stand up in support of safe communities and refused to support efforts to defund the police, they didn’t back me. They abandoned me."
"For far too long, the Democrat Party has gotten away with using and abusing the black community," she added. "For decades, the Democrat Party has received the support of more than 90% of the black community. And what do we have to show for it? I represent a solidly blue district in the city of Atlanta. This isn’t a political decision for me. It’s a moral one."
I’m a sitting Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Democrat Party Establishment is looking to take me out.
— Rep. Mesha Mainor (@MeshaMainor) May 20, 2023
I’m tired of hearing certain folks in my party chant Black Lives Matter during Election Years but are NOWHERE to be found any other year. pic.twitter.com/wuMdVBeCki
Mainor already bucked party lines, calling out members for using the Black Lives Matter movement to score political points. The BLM movement is a more controversial subject, but school choice isn’t. Rep. Mainor shouldn’t be worried if this was her reason for leaving the Democratic Party. Her former colleagues are dead wrong on this issue, though they’re too beholden to the teachers’ unions and their deep war chests to cut ties completely. For years, polling on school choice has enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum, especially among Black Americans, and it increased during the COVID pandemic.
In May, a Morning Consult poll conducted for EdChoice surveyed 1,300 black families. Here are the results:
When a basic definition of each policy was provided, 79% of Black parents supported vouchers, 74% supported charter schools, and 78% supported open enrollment.
Roughly three in four Black parents (78%) support education savings accounts, which are becoming increasingly popular across the country.
For example, in Arizona, if a family decides not to send a student to their public district or charter school, they can receive 90% of the public funding, which is around $7,000. This money goes into an account and can be used for things like private school tuition, tutoring, or future education expenses.
Vida Bratton, who is African American, a wife, and a mother of two, is not at all surprised by the survey's results.
"African Americans we want the best for our children like anyone else," explained Bratton. "You know, parents you have a choice."
Support for this education initiative seems to haven’t changed since 2015, most likely longer than that. In June of 2022, American Federation for Children found the following coming out of the pandemic:
Fully 65% of K-12 parents back school choice, including 66% of public-school parents. Parental support is even higher among K-12 parents who work full-time and among middle school and high school parents (both 72%).
African Americans and Latinos remain very enthusiastic supporters of school choice. This year, 74% of African Americans favor school choice, and 71% of Latinos support school choice.
School choice continues to enjoy bipartisan support: Republicans continue to be the most enthusiastic supports (82%), but 69% of Independents (69%) and Democrats (55%) favor school choice.
K-12 parents also back Education Savings Accounts 78% in support to only 14% in opposition. Education Savings Accounts enjoy strong bipartisan support: 78% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans back the bill.
Support for public charters schools and “school vouchers that allow low- and middle-class families to send their child to any school they deem best” increased this year; 77% of voters support public charter schools and 74% back school vouchers with this framing. Support for public charter schools increased by 10 points among Democrats to 67% and by 14 points among Independents to 81% (85% of Republicans back public charter schools).
Despite a large-scale shift to online learning due to the Coronavirus pandemic, support for virtual learning or online classes remains identical to 2020 (65% support); three-quarters (74%) of K-12 parents support virtual learning or online classes.
A federal tax-credit scholarship continues to have very strong support, with 79% supporting the federal initiative, equal to last year’s level of support, including 92% of African Americans and 86% of Latinos
Mainor's main problem is whether her constituents will stick with her or replace her with a Democrat. I don’t know about her retail political skills, but if she frames this the right way and people still like her, maybe she can hang onto her seat. School choice also isn’t a Left vs. Right issue. In rural America, it’s often Republicans who oppose these initiatives. In cities, it’s more chaotic, as these measures need help from pro-school choice Democrats to pass, who are then later besieged once the battle lines are drawn. It’s an issue that could chip away at old-school Democratic Party regimes, creating a political gap from which moderate Republicans can retake a slice of urban America dominated by progressives. As much as I would like a hard-core conservative to lead the charge, we’re talking about cities here. Tea Party-like politics isn’t going to play well—one step at a time. For now, we have Ms. Mainor as one of the people leading the way.
