Republicans Victorious in 6 of 8 Races for State School Chief

By Adrienne D. Coles and Melanie A. Lasoff

The Republican trend in this year's elections extended to the eight races for chief state school officers that were decided last week. Democrats emerged victorious in only two states: California, where both candidates were Democrats, and Oklahoma, where the incumbent, Sandy Garrett, barely managed to hold on to her job.

Three other incumbents also sought re-election; the Republican won and the two Democrats lost.

In Georgia, Republican Linda Schrenko had been considered a long-shot candidate, but she defeated the incumbent, Werner Rogers, in what turned out to be a tight race. She not only is the first Republican to be elected schools superintendent in the state since the Reconstruction era, but also was the first g.o.p. candidate for that...