The Pendulum Swings: Moms For Liberty Demolished on Primary Night, Pieces Primed to Shatter Legislative Conservative Super Majorities
Across Florida, Moms For Liberty’s influence on public education was dismantled as pro-equality candidates surged and governing majorities flipped
81% of all Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed candidates won their primary elections or advanced to November
Powered by a slate of openly LGBTQ candidates, pro-equality voters are primed to break the conservative super majorities in the legislature
St. Petersburg, Fla. — Last night, primary voters in Florida delivered a seismic message: fire Moms for Liberty, get politics out of our classrooms, protect every student, respect every family, and meet hate head-on with bold, unapologetic champions. Across the state, school board races were dominated by pro-equality public education defenders as book banning, Moms For Liberty-backed extremists faced one humiliating defeat after another. And, fueled by a powerful slate of openly LGBTQ candidates, voters appear primed to crack the conservative super majorities in the legislature that have foisted culture war chaos on the state for years. In all, 81% of Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed candidates won their primary elections or advanced to November’s general election.
“Last night, Florida voters roared. Moms For Liberty is in free fall. Communities are fighting back against book bans, curriculum censorship, and the whitewashing of history. Voters, from the US Senate and Governor’s races to school boards and state legislative contests, chose pro-equality champions. And we are primed to shatter the conservative supermajorities in the legislature in November,” Joe Saunders, Executive Director of Equality Florida Action PAC. “Every win was made possible by the people who showed up, organized their communities, knocked doors, made calls and refused to give up on the Florida we know is possible. Make no mistake: the pendulum is swinging in the Sunshine State back toward freedom, equality, and dignity for all. Florida is and always will be worth fighting for. Now it’s time to carry this momentum forward to November and write a better, freer chapter in our state’s history.”
Defeating Moms for Liberty and Reclaiming Florida’s School Boards
Since 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the far right have elevated groups like Moms for Liberty to censor curriculum, ban books, whitewash history, and demonize the teachers and public schools communities depend on. But in recent years, their influence has been steadily declining. Money has dried up and outrage over their hijacking of school boards to advance an extremist political agenda has grown.
At their peak in 2022, Moms for Liberty proudly claimed over 30 elected school board members. Since, mired in controversy and exposed as manufactured political operatives, their influence has crumbled. In 2024, Equality Florida Action PAC and its partners defeated 76% of Moms for Liberty-backed school board candidates. Earlier this year, The Florida Trib reported that Moms for Liberty had “not made any contributions to local school board candidates across Florida and is poised to be just a minor player this cycle.” And last night, their influence on the state’s education politics was dismantled. Of the more than 30 school board members who championed their Moms for Liberty credentials at the organization’s peak, 20 have been defeated, did not seek reelection, or are limping into runoff elections as pro-equality and pro-diversity candidates are poised to oust them in November. Those that remain in elected office are desperately trying to shed the Moms for Liberty label and ditch the toxic, book-banning brand.
Nowhere has the collapse of the group been more evident than Sarasota. Once hailed as Governor DeSantis’s greatest triumph against public education and the freedom to learn, the community has retaken its power. Sarasota County is a deep red county with a 2-to-1 Republican voter registration advantage. It is also home to New College of Florida, the public college that Governor DeSantis hijacked and remade in his right-wing image. In 2022, Moms For Liberty was founded in the county and the coordinated project to warp the school board into an incubator of the most far-right think tank driven ideas began. That same year Bridget Ziegler, Moms for Liberty’s scandal-ridden co-founder, successfully flipped the the board to a right wing super majority. But Sarasotans across parties quickly grew tired of Ziegler’s extremism, DeSantis’s meddling, and the chaos that ensued. The community began organizing, mobilizing to school board meetings, and building a movement to recenter diversity, student success, and supporting teachers as priorities.
Last night, just months after Ziegler announced she would not run for reelection, the community won. Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed candidates Megan Tennimon (District 4) and Beth Mayberry (District 5), staunch supporters of teaching accurate history and rejecting Moms for Liberty extremism, won their races. And Jimmy Glover (District 1), another Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed champion for public education, advanced to a runoff. That means the Sarasota School Board, once a Moms for Liberty laboratory, will have a pro-equality, pro-public education super majority – with the chance that the Board will be 5-0 in favor of protecting all students and respecting all families once the November dust settles.
In Orange County, Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed Angie Gallo won her race for School Board Chair handily. Gallo defeated Alicia Farrant, a right wing extremist candidate who has spent her time on the school board targeting LGBTQ students and staff and advocating for book bans. That is the story that played out time and again across the state.
In all, 81% of Equality Florida Action PAC-endorsed candidates for school board (25 of 31) won or advanced to a runoff. Top priority candidates who received a boost from Equality Florida Action PAC and SPLC Action Fund’s historic voter engagement program, including a 20-piece $250,000 direct mail campaign, surged even more strongly: 93% either won or advanced to a runoff. The lesson is clear: voters in Florida are taking right-wing extremism on school boards head on, firing Moms for Liberty, and electing proven champions for equality, academic freedom, and student success.
What’s At Stake In November
Now, all eyes turn to the general election, where voters have the chance to extend their demolition of Moms for Liberty, expand the LGBTQ caucus in the legislature, break the conservative supermajorities, elect pro-equality champions statewide, and secure crucial municipal wins.
Democrats need only flip two State Senate seats and five State House seats to crack the conservative supermajorities in both chambers. Crossing these thresholds would remake legislative committees, shift the power dynamic in Tallahassee, and send a clear message that runaway far-right extremism is a losing strategy. The road to breaking the legislative supermajorities is paved with powerful, diverse, openly LGBTQ candidates across the state, several of whom won big primaries last night. An expansion of the LGBTQ legislative caucus and a shift in the balance of power would open the door to a new chapter in Florida politics.
Priority EQFL Action PAC endorsed, openly LGBTQ state legislative candidates on the November ballot include:
- Dr. Jane Aman, Florida House District 37
- Felipe Sousa Lazaballet, Florida House District 42
- Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Florida House District 43
- Luis Salazar, Florida House District 64
- Todd Delmay, Florida House District 101
For a current list of EQFL Action PAC endorsements, see here.
Equality Florida Action PAC’s Commitment
Last night’s primary election results come after months of organizing, voter contact, fundraising and coalition-building by Equality Florida Action PAC and its supporters. Those efforts include:
- 53 phone bank or canvass days to support 21 priority candidates in 10 counties
- A historic $250,000 school board mail campaign in partnership with SPLC Action Fund that delivered 349,000 mail pieces to nearly 175,000 voters in key school board districts
- Over $200,000 raised or donated directly to EQFL Action PAC candidates so far
- Over 120,000 text messages educating priority voters and reminding them to vote
- A four-week digital ad campaign including 21 unique ads generating nearly 1 million impressions
“Last night was not the finish line,” said Saunders. “It was a reminder that organizing works, that equality wins, and it was a moment to recommit to the work ahead. The pendulum is swinging in Florida. It’s our job to grab ahold of it and bring it back toward freedom for all.”
Paid Political Advertisement paid for by Equality Florida Action PAC, 15257 Amberly Drive, Suite 382, Tampa, FL 33647, independently of any candidate or committee. This advertisement was not approved by any candidate.
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