One of the key metrics that the Winston Group watches in education is issue handling. Do voters have more confidence in Republicans or Democrats to handle the issue? Our recent piece for Education Next attempted to explain some of the recent contradictory findings about who voters prefer more. Today, we look at updated education issue handling using data from our latest survey for Winning the Issues (August 30-September 1; 1,000 registered voters).
Overall, these latest numbers continue to find that, while Democrats have a lead, they do not have a majority. Voters prefer Democrats by a margin of 11 (38-49 Republican Party-Democratic Party), slightly narrower than the 14-point margin observed in our June survey (36-50). Democrats prefer the Democratic Party 5-88. Among Republicans, 75% prefer the Republican Party, but with a quarter that either are not sure (10%) or prefer Democrats (15%). Independents are less decided than they were in the June survey going from a large Democratic lead (25-52) to a moderate Democratic lead (33-44). As for parents, they split 44-45.
As we wrote in our piece for Education Next, the fact that there is confusion over who has the advantage reflects that neither party has made the issue a priority. But that does not mean that the issue is being completely ignored. In the spring, Rahm Emanuel disparaged “the discussion of locker rooms” and “the discussion of bathrooms,” saying “we better start having a conversation about the classroom.” Over the summer, American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten announced a collaborative effort with the World Economic Forum “to create a curriculum that will lead to good jobs and solid careers in U.S. manufacturing.”
Republicans should take heed, and develop a compelling alternative, if they want education to remain a
competitive issue.
