… Schools have long been a top issue in gubernatorial campaigns. And education has frequently been the battlefield of American culture wars, from war protests to classroom prayer.
But thanks to frustration over pandemic school closings, a national push by conservatives to resist a wave of race-focused curriculum changes and an unforced error by McAuliffe, Virginia Republicans have found an issue that unites their fractious base without turning off the suburban moderates they need to win statewide on Nov. 2.
“Virginia offers a first test as to whether or not education issues like these could be effective at wooing back suburban voters that Republicans hemorrhaged during the Trump administration,” said Jessica Taylor, an analyst who tracks governor’s races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. CONTINUED
Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News
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