DeSantis’ education message is winning in battleground states, teacher union poll finds – By Marc Caputo and Jonathan Allen (NBC News) / July 15, 2022
TAMPA, Fla. — Before a friendly audience of conservative moms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday excoriated political opponents of wanting to “sexualize” children and warp kids’ understanding of race and history.
The charged campaign rhetoric in remarks to the Moms for Liberty group was usual fare for DeSantis — and a major reason why he’s in the top tier of potential GOP presidential candidates who now sits on an unprecedented $130 million war chest.
But the political backdrop was as atypical as unexpected: The day before his speech, one of the national teacher unions that opposes him released a battleground-state survey showing voters approve of DeSantis’ education policy positions, and even some of his rhetoric.
The American Federation of Teachers circulated the poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Hart Research, as a call to arms for its members and allies to emphasize more popular proposals like spending more on schools and reducing class sizes, and de-emphasize fights that center on cultural issues.
