The Wisconsin Governor’s Race Might Be Decided by Education

Voters think about a lot of things at the polls: immigration, the economy, health care, gun policy, and—more cynically—party affiliation. But education is an issue that doesn’t typically poll near the top of the list, even though it’s often thought of as a bedrock of society. Tony Evers, Wisconsin’s public-schools chief, and the most likely Democratic candidate to take on Governor Scott Walker in November’s gubernatorial election, is banking on the fact that that’s changing.

Evers, 67, isn’t the only educator who says he’s been inspired to seek political office because of the status quo—underfunded schools that have been hit with spending cuts, low teacher pay, and perpetual achievement gaps. Energized by successful teacher strikes in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona, more than 150 teachers—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike—are running for state-legislative seats this year,. And in New Mexico, , education weighs heavily in the governor’s race. Whoever wins that race will immediately walk into a legal fight over funding for what a judge called “an inadequate system,” and both candidates have vowed to revamp the state’s teacher-evaluation practices.