Governor's Race Tests Power Of Merged Teachers' Union
A new major player is making its presence known in Florida gubernatorial politics: a 122,000-member teachers' union that, by most accounts, has turned a long-shot candidate into a serious contender for the state's top job.
Next week's matchup between Democrat Bill McBride and incumbent Republican Jeb Bush is the first Florida governor's race since the state's two major teachers' unions merged into a single organization, the Florida Education Association. The resulting synergy, say labor leaders and some political analysts, has paid off handsomely not only for the union-backed Democratic challenger, but also for supporters of three education-related proposals on the Nov. 5 ballot there.
"I do think the merger has reinvigorated the union," said Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "They've been able to marshal...
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