Mother of four and former school psychologist, Liz Barker, successfully ran for the School Board District 2 in Sarasota, Florida. (Courtesy Liz Barker)
More than half of candidates who went through a training with Moms Demand Action won their races in the 2023-24 election cycle — and the gun safety group says that one of its big takeaways is that nonpartisan messaging is key to wins, especially down ballot.
Among the 330 Moms Demand Action volunteers who successfully ran, nearly 200 were in local offices. Among those were two school board candidates in Florida: Liz Barker, who won a seat in Sarasota County over a candidate backed by conservative group Moms for Liberty, and Rebecca Thompson, who defeated an incumbent in Broward County who had been appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Such wins are especially critical to enacting real change, said Angela Ferrell-Zabala , the executive director of Moms Demand Action. “These are the folks in the community that are closest to problems,” she said. “Some of our volunteers that ran for school board, they’ve been part of the PTA, they’re working with other folks in the community, they see their children play together, they’re on the same teams. … It’s important because once they get in, they get right to work.”