Cabarrus County school board candidates face growing NC trend: party politics in education

In the first-ever partisan Cabarrus County school board race, four Republicans face four Democrats this November for four seats..

The race was made partisan by a bill passed by the Republican-led state legislature last year, and has left some Democratic candidates worried they'll lose based on the party affiliation next to their name rather than their policies. Cabarrus residents have elected only Republicans to the county commission for nearly 40 years, said commission chair Steve Morris.

The board currently consists of three Republicans, three Democrats and one unaffiliated voter, according to voter records.

The new law means more than 50 school boards will be partisan across the state this year. While Mecklenburg has a nonpartisan school board election, nearby Catawba and Union counties both hold partisan elections.

Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College, said most people simply vote for their party affiliation in partisan races. Only 5% of North Carolina voters usually split their tickets, he said.

"Party affiliation serves as a 'cue' for voters, because the parties have become so sorted ideologically and policy-wise that voters know what each party generally stands for," Bitzer wrote in an email to The Charlotte Observer. "Once you get into lower-level contests, where the candidates are likely not well known or have to compete for voters' attention with other major races, it's just the power of the party cue that sends the signal to the voter and they vote based on their loyalty to one party over the other."

In Cabarrus County, unaffiliated voters make up the largest percentage of registered voters at around 39%, according to data from the Cabarrus County Board of Elections . Democrats make up around 28% of the voter base while Republicans make up around 33%.

Candidates worry

Keshia Sandidge is one of two candidates running for reelection to the board, and the only Democrat doing so. Having to run in a partisan race worries her, she said. Before House Bill 88 became law, Sandidge wrote to legislators urging them to keep partisan politics out of the education race.

"Party politics has no place on the school board," Sandidge said. "Party politics should not dictate what schools are doing, this should be based on what's best for children, period. When you put party into that equation, you go for what's best for an individual party and not specifically for children."

Sandidge said her campaign strategy has not changed despite newly added party politics.

"What happens in Cabarrus, regardless of (people's) party affiliation, regardless of their income status, regardless of the color of their skin, regardless of how much money they make, is important to all of us, and that's the way I look at politics," Sandidge said. "I have not changed, and I don't plan to change."

Mishell Williams said she isn't worried about running in the partisan race as a Democrat. She wants people to look at her qualifications and policies rather than her political affiliation.

"It's inevitable, some people are going to only vote for somebody just because of their political affiliation, or some people will only vote because you're a female or you are a male," Williams said. "That's just part of it, but I'm not worried. I will say that, I'm not worried. I think I'm doing a great job."

What do Republicans think?

Some Republican candidates agree that party affiliation is not the most important factor influencing their educational beliefs.

In response to a questionnaire sent to candidates by The Charlotte Observer, Republican candidate Catherine Bonds Moore said she would base her decisions off of "what is best for our children" when asked how party affiliation plays a role in her decision making process.

Rob Walter, the incumbent Republican, said in the questionnaire that, although he aligns most closely with the Republican Party many educational issues are nonpartisan.

"Board members are individuals and many issues the school board faces are not political and board members of the same party can and do vote differently based on our individual analysis of the issue before the board," he wrote. "It makes sense to listen to other view points and see if a consensus can be found on what is best for the students and staff of the school district. That is our ultimate responsibility as school board members."

Changing electorate

Rob Cerulo, a Democratic candidate said the political makeup of Cabarrus County, — which has seen an influx in development and population growth in recent years — could change as the population does. According to a 2023 trend report by the county, the population growth, 26.8% in 10 years, is "almost entirely fueled by people of color."

"Cabarrus County has an opportunity to be a leader for growth and change," Cerulo said. "We're ready to make sure that we have the right folks in offices that can help us move the needle to be more representative of the constituents that we're serving. And I think that means kind of offsetting... some of the very heavy commissions of Republicans with some Democratic leadership."

Morris, the outgoing county commission chair, said regardless of political affiliation, people should care more about smaller races like the board of education.

"Your city council members, your county commissioners, your school board members, are the people that affect your daily life more than many of the more high profile races," he said. "These folks at the local level make decisions that impact you every day in ways that you can see and feel."

Morris said the voter turnout in Cabarrus is quite low and unaffiliated voters are relatively unengaged compared to Republicans and Democrats. Still, he said, unaffiliated voters could unexpectedly sway the board of education race away from a Republican sweep.

"I really think that we're seeing a bit of a shift in Cabarrus County... I think that with the extremely divisive environment that we live in today, I think that there are an increasing number of people that are not particularly enchanted by the party politics situation," Morris said. "I think it could go either way."