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Candidates aligned with Moms for Liberty, the far-right organization known for backing book bans and antagonizing trans children, took a bath in the 2023 election.
In the wake of 2022, when right-wing fury and the so-called war on "wokeness" swept Moms for Liberty-linked candidates onto school boards across the country, 2023 marked a backlash. Several Moms for Liberty candidates lost their elections, signaling a softening in support for the organization, its self-styled “mama bears” and the bigoted policies they back. (A sex scandal involving organization co-founder Brigit Ziegler and her husband, Christian, also doesn't seem to have helped Moms for Liberty in the credibility department.) But this year, the organization is looking to make its mark with a multimillion-dollar advertising plan that targets swing states.
In short, Moms for Liberty could be coming to a screen — or street — near you.
According to The Associated Press, “Moms for Liberty plans to spend more than $3 million on a multi-state advertising blitz to increase its membership and engage voters before November.” The ad blitz is set to target Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with hopes of expanding to Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania later in the year. According to AP, this campaign will include:
- Billboards that promote parents taking control over their child's classrooms, and that target the Biden administration’s new Title IX policies to protect LGBTQ+ students;
- Media interviews;
- Targeted digital ads;
- Emails and text message campaigns reaching out to potential voters.
Moms for Liberty has often been cagey about its funding, and the organization's co-founder Tina Descovich declined to tell the AP who is helping to pay for the ad campaign.
Conservatives appear intent on making anti-trans bigotry a key part of their message this election season. I recently wrote about the radio ads released by a pro-Trump super PAC, which target Black communities with anti-trans and anti-immigrant rhetoric. The Moms for Liberty's billboards demonizing “gender confusion” show how they are looking to enliven the same kind of bigoted fervor that swept some of the organization's members into power in 2021.
I suppose it’s possible a critical mass of swing state voters will be motivated by this MAGA-esque messaging about cracking down on educational freedom and LGBTQ kids. But it seems just as likely — if not more likely — that last year’s electoral rebuke of Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates in states across the country was an indicator that Americans’ tolerance for the group and its tactics is wearing thin.