Thread by @joshcowenMSU

Quick🧵 on vouchers and fringe campaigns:

The common link between @gretchenwhitmer @katiehobbs is both ran against fringe #schoolvouchers candidates #Election2022

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Whitmer ran against @BetsyDeVos handpicked avatar @TudorDixon who made #schoolvouchers and “parents” the centerpiece of her campaign

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Hobbs ran against @BetsyDeVos choice Kari Lake, who made AZ’s recent #schoolvouchers expansion—the largest in the US—her own centerpiece

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.@BetsyDeVos staff—not just acolytes but aides—were out in force for both Dixon in MI and Lake in AZ.

For example Corey DeAngelis from the DeVos 501(c)(4) lobbying group American Federation for Children actually flew down post-primary to launch the fall AZ campaign.

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A few weeks later DeAngelis was in @DetNewsOpinion placing the same #schoolvouchers talking points

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And another senior AFC/DeVos staffer put another @DetNewsOpinion #schoolvouchers piece propping Dixon up days before the vote

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By the way @DetNewsOpinion did not disclose either DeVos connection and simply identified these staffers as “researcher” and “fellow” in the bylines—they are official titles but so much more that. E.g. the photo with Lake and DeAngelis above.

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.@gretchenwhitmer and @katiehobbs ran on a number of key issues, most prominently #ReproductiveFreedom, and then a defense of public schools.

But their opponents were all-in #schoolvouchers @Moms4Liberty @BetsyDeVos foot soldiers—and lost.

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Both Lake/Dixon were fringe, #ElectionDenial (itself tied to #schoolvouchers financially) candidates

So do voters defeat fringe candidates because they’re extreme? Or are extreme fringe candidates more likely to support vouchers?

Answer: Yes!
Evidence: AZ and MI
#Election2022