Quick Summary:
• More than half of Moms Demand Action-trained candidates won their races in 2023-2024, with nearly 230 securing local offices.
• Liz Barker and Rebecca Thompson, school board candidates in Florida, won on platforms emphasizing community safety, education, and gun violence prevention.
• Barker focused on nonpartisan messaging, defeating a Moms for Liberty-backed opponent in a Republican-leaning district by prioritizing “putting children first.”
• Thompson, a school social worker, campaigned on mental health resources and school safety, avoiding divisive rhetoric even against a DeSantis appointee.
• Gun violence is the leading cause of death for U.S. children, with 83 school shootings in 2024 marking a record high.
• Nonpartisan messaging on universal concerns like safe schools and quality education helped candidates connect with diverse voters across party lines.
• Local victories are key to broader change, with newly elected leaders implementing policies like safe firearm storage and addressing community fears about school shootings.
More than half of the candidates trained by Moms Demand Action won their races in the 2023-2024 election cycle, marking a significant shift in how local elections can be shaped by prioritizing gun safety as a nonpartisan issue. Of the 330 candidates who ran, nearly 230 secured local offices, with many focusing their campaigns on protecting children and addressing gun violence in schools.
Two notable victories came in Florida, where Liz Barker and Rebecca Thompson won contentious school board elections by emphasizing the shared goals of community safety and student well-being. Their approach, rooted in nonpartisan messaging, offers a roadmap for how candidates can address deeply polarizing issues like gun safety without alienating voters across the political spectrum.
Moms Demand Action, a national gun safety organization, trains candidates through its Demand a Seat program, which equips volunteers to run for office and campaign on issues like safe firearm storage, mental health resources, and child protection. Angela Ferrell-Zabala, the executive director of Moms Demand Action, emphasized the importance of electing local leaders who are “closest to the problems.”
“These are the folks in the community that are closest to problems,” Ferrell-Zabala said. “Some of our volunteers that ran for school board, they’ve been part of the PTA, they’re working with other folks in the community, they see their children play together, they’re on the same teams. … It’s important because once they get in, they get right to work.”
In local school boards representing nearly 11 million students, newly elected leaders are already addressing issues like gun violence and safe firearm storage policies, highlighting the real-world impact of these victories.
Liz Barker, a mother of four and former school psychologist, ran for a school board seat in Sarasota County, Florida, after witnessing what she described as the politicization of education in her community. Barker recounted a turning point when her sixth-grade daughter came home and said she had to help her teacher pack up the classroom library because books were no longer allowed in class.
“That was the moment that I said enough,” Barker said. “This sort of politicization of education is not in the best interest of students, and I can’t stand by and just watch it happen.”
Her opponent, backed by the conservative group Moms for Liberty, had strong Republican support in a district where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly two-to-one. To win in such a politically charged environment, Barker focused on depoliticizing her message.
“My messaging was putting community first, putting our children first, and saving space for those conversations and leaving politics at the door,” Barker said. She emphasized universal concerns like school safety and quality education, resonating with parents who shared her fears about gun violence in schools.
Rebecca Thompson, a school social worker in Broward County, Florida, never expected to run for public office. Her decision to campaign was deeply personal: as someone working in schools, she often reflected on the danger of school shootings.
Thompson shared that she had started recording audio messages for her children at the beginning of every school year—just in case something happened to her during a shooting at work.
“It’s extremely morbid to think about, but unfortunately as a country, that’s the risk we put on our teachers and social workers and staff and children,” Thompson said.
When an opportunity arose to challenge a school board member appointed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, Thompson decided to run. She campaigned on improving mental health resources and creating safer school environments, avoiding direct criticism of her opponent to maintain a nonpartisan tone.
Thompson also credited Moms Demand Action for providing both practical and emotional support during her campaign. The network of volunteers in her local chapter helped her with everything from managing her campaign to childcare. “That’s something you couldn’t ask just anyone to do,” she said.
Both Barker and Thompson attribute their success to staying focused on the universal concerns of parents. Barker explained that parents want the same things regardless of political affiliation: safe schools, healthy children, and access to high-quality education.
“If you talk to parents, we’re all concerned about the same thing: We want our kids to be safe, we want our kids to be healthy, and we want them to have access to high-quality instruction — if we stay in that lane, it’s very easy to find common ground,” Barker said.
Even on polarizing issues like gun safety, Barker found that framing the discussion as a community issue rather than a political one helped voters connect with her message. School board races in Florida are officially nonpartisan, which allowed her to talk openly about safety and education without party labels becoming a barrier.
“Everyone knows I’m a Democrat—it’s certainly not a mystery—but there’s a level there of a voter giving themselves permission to vote across party lines when there’s not sort of this idea of it being a partisan race,” Barker said.
Thompson echoed this sentiment, saying that gun safety discussions don’t have to be divisive. “The goal at the end of this is to keep kids safe. So how can we work together to ensure that’s possible?”
These local wins come at a time when school shootings are at record highs. Monday’s shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, marked the 83rd school shooting of 2024, surpassing last year’s total as the highest number since CNN began tracking in 2008. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
While national gun reform efforts often stall in Congress, Ferrell-Zabala said local victories are critical to driving change. “We can get up to Congress and get up to president if we start from building from the ground in our very own neighborhoods,” she said.
Barker highlighted the importance of focusing on hyper-local issues that directly impact families. “Any way that we can have small, positive impacts in our own communities, that’s huge,” she said. “When we choose each other over politics, it’s huge.”
To join the movement to end gun violence, take action at Everytown Gun Safety.
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