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Anti-Common Core Candidate, Matt Bevin, Wins Kentucky Governor's Race
November, 2015Matt Bevin, an anti-establishment outsider, who was defeated in his primary race against US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, came back strong to handily win the Kentucky Governor's race last night. Although there were many important issues discussed, such as Obamacare, religious liberty, and the EPA's war on coal producing states, Common Core was very prominently discussed:
Education Week mentioned the import of his potential victory in their discussion of the various races and measures around the country:
Arguably, the governor's race with the biggest potential impact on public schools is in Kentucky, where Democrat and state Attorney General Jack Conway is facing off against Republican Matt Bevin, a business executive who unsuccessfully tried to unseat U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell last year.
Bevin is an opponent of the Common Core State Standards, and although he wouldn't have the power simply to chuck the standards overboard on his own if he were to win the election, his power to appoint members of the state board could ultimately endanger the common core's status in the state. (New state chief Stephen Pruitt, an alumnus of one of the key backers of the standards, Achieve, might have something to say about that.)
Congratulations to Governor-Elect Matt Bevin! Common Core opponents in Kentucky finally have some reinforcements in the statehouse. Even though Florida students, teachers, and districts continue to suffer under the Jeb Bush/Pearson/AIR Common Core standards and testing accountabaloney, we are happy for our fellow warriors to be making progress!