93% of college profs’ political donations went to Democrats in 2022

A new analysis shows 9 in every 10 college professors who make political donations do so to Democrats. 

Education Freedom Institute’s (EFI) newest report compiled records of over 437,000 campaign contributions made during the 2022 election cycle – 280,000 from college professors and 157,000 from K-12 teachers. 

“The results show that university professors lean much more to the left than do K-12 teachers, and this monolithic support for Democratic political candidates among professors hardly varies with the partisan composition of the state in which they are located,” wrote Jay Greene, senior managing fellow of EFI.  

Overall, 84% of educators’ donations went to Democrats. Only 68% of K-12 teachers donated to Democrats, compared to a staggering 93% of college professors.  

Rates vary state by state, but even in conservative regions, professors were overwhelmingly aligned with Democrats. 

Only in four states – Louisiana, South Carolina, Montana and Kansas – did fewer than 80% of college educators’ contributions go to the left.  

The political loyalties of college teachers may explain conservative outrage over leftist professors in the news. 

For example, a University of Kansas teacher told his class before Tuesday’s election that men who don’t vote for Kamala Harris should be executed. 

A UCLA law professor suggested changing the Constitution to censor wealthy people such as Elon Musk during elections.  

And a whole group of professors recently claimed DEI statements and criteria for hiring and promoting were important for “academic freedom.”  

Other educators have been accused of fanning the flames of antisemitism and anti-Israel violence. 

According to Greene, leftist professors can gatekeep their profession, making it harder and harder for conservatives to work in higher education.  

“The national lock that left-leaning professors hold over who is hired as new professors, who is able to publish in top journals, and who receives tenure, helps solidify the extremely high and unvaried rate of support for the Democratic party among faculty,” he argued. “If quality education involves exposure to a diversity of perspectives, the status quo is incredibly deficient in this regard.  

“If education should reflect the value preferences of the states and communities being served, there is no indication that conservatives have their views better represented in educational settings that their children attend and that Republican policymakers fund.”