Incumbents beat DeSantis-backed candidates in Florida school board races

Associated Press/Report for America

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — School board candidates in Florida backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis were defeated in several counties, results that opponents of the Republican say are a rebuke to his conservative education agenda. Incumbent school board members in what’s historically been one of Florida’s largest swing counties appear to have held off challenges by “parental rights” candidates backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. That’s according to preliminary election results Tuesday. Activists had hoped that three challengers endorsed by the local chapter of Moms for Liberty would be able to win a conservative majority on the Pinellas County School Board. Desantis-backed school board candidates were also losing in Hillsborough and Broward counties.