Several local elections flipped seats from Democrat to Republican this week, which could portend a red wave for conservatives in 2022. From school boards to mayors, signs of a red wave are on the horizon.
In Norman, Oklahoma—with a population of approx. 128,000, former Norman Safety Manager Larry Heikkila "won the Norman mayoral seat in the Tuesday night runoff election over incumbent Breea Clark." According to unofficial results, he won over 53 percent of the vote. In the Feb. 8 election, he received about 36 percent of the votes, with Clark receiving 32 percent. The win is significant because it represents a sea of change in politics for the city because of calls to defund the police amid rising crime rates. Two years ago, Democrats controlled city council seats and the mayor's office. Now the democrats hold a "small majority" and lost the mayoral seat. Heikkila says he is not a "career politician."
School boards have seen two years of record-level parental participation. The pandemic seemed to usher in newfound interest from parents due to mandates. However, the bi-product of parental involvement has also increased public awareness of what is being taught in schools. From curricula saturated with critical race theory to identity politics, and a lack of regard for parental consent, parents have become more engaged in the machinations of school boards.
In Springfield, MO., two anti-CRT candidates unseated incumbents. Kelli Byrne and Steve Mikoski were both opposed by the teacher's union and the local chamber of commerce. Two conservatives won school board seats in the Rockwood school district, St. Louis County's largest public school system serving over 22,000 students. Izzy Imig and Jessica Laurent Clark won with support from conservative groups like Moms for Liberty.
Katie Lyczak also won a seat in the Wentzville school district. The district is West of St. Louis and serves about 17,000 students. The Lee's Summit Missouri school board also racked up two conservative seats. "Anti-CRT moms" Heather Eslick and Jennifer Foley won seats.
Moms for liberty contends it now has 80,000 members in 34 states, as pictured in the interactive map from their website below. Their slogan is "Find Your People: Fan the Flames of Liberty in Your Community."
Moms For Liberty/Interactive Map
In Florida, on Mar. 14, Governor DeSantis announced the appointment of Moms for Liberty member and former marine Esther Byrd to the state Board of Education.
Wisconsin saw some sweeping wins last night. Conservative Maria Lazar won election to Wisconsin's Second District Court of Appeals for starters, unseating Liberal incumbent Lori Kornblum. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Lazar took 158,290 votes, to Kornblum's 131,863, good for a 55% to 45% margin of victory, according to complete unofficial results.
Lazar's win was the second time in two years a conservative-backed challenger defeated an incumbent appellate judge appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat. Last year, Shelley Grogan, a law clerk to conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, beat Jeffrey Davis, who represented corporate clients at a major law firm and had served on the Court of Appeals for nearly two years.
Conservatives on school boards and County Executives' positions in the state scored wins. Nina Christensen, Shelley Holzman, and Chris Stueland were all endorsed by the Waukesha County Republican Party. The mothers were focused on mask mandates and questionable material in the curriculum.
Christensen's campaign statement advocated for bringing transparency and integrity to education. In Waukesha, WI, conservatives won all three of the city's seats, also knocking out two liberal incumbents. The Manitowoc school board also flipped to "completely conservatives," winning three seats this week. Conservatives swept school board elections across the state and scored wins in New Berlin, Whitnall, and Cedarberg school districts. Many of the successes in the state are credited to the Republican Party of Waukesha County's WisRed initiative, probably the "best local candidate voter guide in the state."
In Wisconsin's Kenosha county, conservatives tallied a flip of the Kenosha Executive County seat. Samantha Kerkman, 47, the sitting representative of the 61st Assembly district, defeated Rebecca Matoska-Mentink. Kerkman will be the first woman to win the seat. She will "hold a dual role for a two-month transitionary period." It is only the fifth time the County Executive seat has been turned over. The county has enjoyed "years of Democrat dominance."
The Portage County Executive was also flipped to Republican. The Democrat, Eric Olson, with the support of labor unions and conservation groups, outraised his conservative opponent John Pavelski. "Olson outraised Pavelski, $17,027 to $8,040, respectively," according to the spmetrowire website. It was a "nailbiter," with unofficial numbers totaling 8,557 votes for Pavelski to Eric Olson's 8,533 votes. The canvassing committee will certify next week.
Let's not forget the significant wins in Virginia earlier this year. In what may have been a litmus test for an upcoming red wave, a "trifecta of conservative candidates" won top political seats in the state. Attorney General Jason Miyares (R-VA) defeated Democratic Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. And Glen Youngkin and Winsome Sears won Governor and Lt. Governor seats, respectively. Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe. There is almost no doubt strong parental involvement in Virginia suburbs affected those wins. Loudoun County parents have been among the most consistently and vociferously engaged parents in the nation with their fights against mandates, CRT, and transgender policies in the schools.
With Biden's numbers at historic lows because of gas prices, the disastrous exit from Afghanistan, the border crisis, the politicization of every federal agency, an unnecessary continuation of the COVID-19 emergency order, alleged election fraud that may have handed Biden an illegitimate presidency, and overseas conflicts that have been, arguably, manufactured out of thin air, a red wave may indeed be on the horizon in the fall of 2022.
