After months of advocating for critical race theory in classrooms throughout the country, the Democratic Party is rapidly losing ground with voters over this controversial issue.
Recent polling indicates that the Democratic Party has overplayed its hand on this deeply contentious topic, with a recent poll from YouGov, sponsored by The Economist, found that 58 percent of Americans had an unfavorable view of critical race theory, while only 38 percent of Americans had a favorable view.
An overwhelming 85 percent of Republicans who were surveyed had a very unfavorable view of critical race theory, with another 6 percent reporting that they had a somewhat unfavorable view. The split was notable partisan, with 58 percent of Democrats having a very favorable view in addition to 28 percent who self-reported a somewhat favorable view.
Meanwhile, Independents had a distinctly negative view of the theory, with 71 percent reporting a very unfavorable view and another 5 percent answering that they had a somewhat unfavorable view of critical race theory.
With just over three-quarters of Independent voters opposing critical race theory, the vast majority of whom were staunchly against it, the Democratic Party could likely face serious electoral troubles as the theory becomes a hot button topic at the center of various elections.
Politico reports that the Democratic Party’s appeal to suburban voters may be particularly threatened as grassroots movements crop up to combat the Marxist ideology in school districts the country while the Democratic Party has remained largely unresponsive to such concerns. Virginia’s Democrat gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe hastily dismissed parent’s concerns surrounding critical race theory by calling it a “right-wing conspiracy theory” that was concocted by Donald Trump and McAuliffe’s Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin.
While other Democrats and left-wing teachers unions claim the theory isn’t being taught at all, Politico’s reporting indicates that Democratic leadership is deeply underestimating the breadth and depth of parent’s opposition to critical race theory, noting:
Objections to new equity plans are not the sole province of conservatives but extend to many moderate and independent voters, according to POLITICO interviews with school board members, political operatives and activists in Democratic and left-leaning communities including the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; New York’s Westchester County; Maricopa County covering Phoenix, Ariz.; and suburban Detroit.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Democratic Party will be able to effectively walk back their support for critical race theory, or if their attempts to push the theory in K-12 schools will cost them at the ballot box.
