Incumbents beat DeSantis-backed candidates in Florida school board race

Associated Press/Report for America

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Incumbent school board members in what’s historically been one of Florida’s largest swing counties appear to have held off challenges by “parental rights” candidates backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. That’s according to preliminary election results Tuesday. Activists had hoped that three challengers endorsed by the local chapter of Moms for Liberty would be able to win a conservative majority on the Pinellas County School Board. But critics say that parents’ rights activists there — who have equated books with pornography and labeled teachers as “groomers” — have gone too far.