The entire New Jersey state Legislature and many local school boards are up for election on Tuesday. Pollsters and strategists say parents who are upset over progressive school policies on issues like transgender rights and sex education could be a wild card — and could not only affect school board races, but also the balance of the state Senate and Assembly.
For the last two years, Draeger has examined ballots and noticed that the usual dropoff in vote totals for candidates at the bottom of the ballot — for the smaller, more local races — did not happen. “When you have such a low turnout, as we expect this fall, that is what you're looking for, you're looking for those issues that could get your hardcore partisans to the polls,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rowan University Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship. “I think the Republicans have found themselves since the summer in a very fruitful policy environment.