Charles Fain Lehman of the Washington Free Beacon highlights interesting polling data involving Democratic voters and charter schools.
A majority of Democratic primary voters, as well as black and Latino voters, say they would be less likely to vote for a 2020 contender who would stop funding charter schools.
This finding comes from the sixth annual National School Choice Poll, a survey commissioned by the American Federation for Children, a pro-charters lobbying organization. Surveying 1,275 likely voters, the poll found that 58 percent of respondents would be less likely to support a candidate who wants to eliminate federal charter school funding. That figure includes 56 percent of Democratic voters, as well as 62 percent of black respondents and 65 percent of Latino respondents.
The poll’s conclusion may prove problematic for 2020 Democrats who have been critical of charter schools and the school choice movement. In particular, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) have sought to differentiate themselves from the pack in their vociferousness for defunding charter schools, a move unlikely to win them praise within the party’s rank and file.
The poll found that voters generally support more choices in their educational arrangements. When asked if they support “school choice”—meaning giving “parents the right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their needs”—majorities across ages and racial groups are in favor, with Latinos particularly in support at 82 percent. Even a majority of Democrats—57 percent—say they like school choice; by comparison, 69 percent of independents and 84 percent of Republicans like the idea.