Nearly 95% of teacher donations in Wisconsin went to Democrats, says report

(The Center Square) – 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.

“Some may wonder how useful political donations can be in identifying what a particular group may think and how they will vote,” WILL authors Will Flanders and Cori Peterson wrote in the report. “While such metrics are imperfect, they have long been used by political scientists in measuring opinion.”

And the WILL report says the opinion appears to be almost total Democratic support among teachers in the state.

“If 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,” the report notes.

WILL’s 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 teachers’ unions. Those who give to the intermediary organization  “WEAC We Can Do It” have donations earmarked to specific candidates that are  “pro-public education.”

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 Wisconsin’s effort to expand school choice in the state.

“Teachers have aligned strongly  with one political party, and conservatives should place less concern about the public school  sector’s political opinions when doing what is best for Wisconsin’s kids.” Flanders added. “Conservative  candidates tip-toeing around school choice should consider the organized effort underway to  sway their opinion.”

You can find the full report, called Chalkboards and Campaign Checks: Political Contributions of Wisconsin Teachers and Education Reform at WILL’s website.