Nearly 95% of teacher donations in Wisconsin went to Democrats, says report
(The Center Square) â A new report shows just how lopsided the political activity among teachers in Wisconsin really is.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Monday shared its new report…
(The Center Square) â A new report shows just how lopsided the political activity among teachers in Wisconsin really is.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Monday shared its new report on teacher donations with The Center Square that shows nearly 95% of those donations went to Democrats and Democratic candidates.
The report looked at state level donations from teachers from inside and outside of Wisconsin for the 2020 and 2022 elections.
âSome may wonder how useful political donations can be in identifying what a particular group may think and how they will vote,â WILL authors Will Flanders and Cori Peterson wrote in the report. âWhile such metrics are imperfect, they have long been used by political scientists in measuring opinion.â
And the WILL report says the opinion appears to be almost total Democratic support among teachers in the state.
âIf the vast majority of teachers come from one side of the aisle, it is highly likely that this flows into the teaching that they provide to students across the state,â the report notes.
WILLâs finding show that:
- 94% of teacher donations went to Democratic candidates or organizations. Only 5.2% of donations went to others, including non-conservative-aligned entities such as the Green Party.
- Of Wisconsin-based teachers, 88.5% of donations went to Democratic candidates or organizations. Even when considering only those who list a Wisconsin address, donations still disproportionally favor Democrats.
- 100% of donations from the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) Conduit went to Democrats. This is via the donation pass-through organization of state teachersâ unions. Those who give to the intermediary organization âWEAC We Can Do Itâ have donations earmarked to specific candidates that are âpro-public education.â
Flanders said the lopsided political bent among teachers is not just an issue for potential bias. He said the baked-in opposition among Democratic-leaning teachers has stalled Wisconsinâs effort to expand school choice in the state.
âTeachers have aligned strongly with one political party, and conservatives should place less concern about the public school sectorâs political opinions when doing what is best for Wisconsinâs kids.â Flanders added. âConservative candidates tip-toeing around school choice should consider the organized effort underway to sway their opinion.â
You can find the full report, called Chalkboards and Campaign Checks: Political Contributions of Wisconsin Teachers and Education Reform at WILLâs website.