States

Over 170 Teachers Ran for State Office in 2018. Here’s What We Know About Them

By Daarel Burnette II, Madeline Will & Maya Riser-Kositsky — July 17, 2018 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

In a year defined by educator activism, there were large numbers of teachers running for office. At least 177 current teachers filed to run for state legislative seats in 2018, an original Education Week analysis found. At least 43 current teachers won their races. All of the candidates—and their party affiliations, school districts, subjects taught, and other relevant information—are included in this searchable database.

More on this database:

  • EdWeek limited this database to current teachers running for their state legislatures. In the aftermath of the statewide teacher strikes and protests this spring, we wanted to shine a light on the teachers who were seeking to join a body that determines their pay and other policies that directly affect their profession.
  • EdWeek collected the most data on candidates in Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—states that had recently seen significant teacher unrest.
  • We collected the information from July to November 2018 using a variety of sources, including teacher organizations, news reports, and direct submissions through an online form. This list may not be exhaustive.
  • EdWeek staff verified each candidate.

See Also

Jennifer Esau, center, an Oklahoma teacher who is running for a state Senate seat, talks with Sandra Yost in Claremore, Okla., as she and her 16-year-old daughter Isabelle, right, canvass her district for votes earlier this month.
Jennifer Esau, center, an Oklahoma teacher who is running for a state Senate seat, talks with Sandra Yost in Claremore, Okla., as she and her 16-year-old daughter Isabelle, right, canvass her district for votes earlier this month.
Brandi Simons/Education Week

Related Tags:

Reporting: Maya Riser-Kositsky, Madeline Will, and Daarel Burnette II
Design & Visualization: Maya Riser-Kositsky, Vanessa Solis

This database was originally published July 17, 2018, with the headline, “Over 100 Teachers Are Running for State Office. Here’s What We Know About Them”.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
Smarter Tools, Stronger Outcomes: Empowering CTE Educators With Future-Ready Solutions
Open doors to meaningful, hands-on careers with research-backed insights, ideas, and examples of successful CTE programs.
Content provided by Pearson
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States McMahon Touts Funding Flexibility for Iowa That Falls Short of Trump Admin. Goal
The Ed. Dept. is allowing the state education agency to consolidate small sets of funds from four grants.
6 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is interviewed by Indiana’s Secretary of Education Katie Jenner during the 2025 Reagan Institute Summit on Education in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2025.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, pictured here in Washington on Sept. 18, 2025, has granted Iowa a partial waiver from provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act, saying the move is a step toward the Trump administration's goal of "returning education to the states." The waiver allows Iowa some additional flexibility in how it spends the limited portion of federal education funds used by the state department of education.
Leah Millis for Education Week
States Zohran Mamdani Picks Manhattan Superintendent as NYC Schools Chancellor
Kamar Samuels is a veteran educator of the nation's largest school system.
Cayla Bamberger & Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News
2 min read
Zohran Mamdani speaks during a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party on Nov. 4, 2025, in New York.
Zohran Mamdani speaks during a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party on Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. The new mayor named a former teacher and principal and current superintendent as chancellor of the city’s public schools.
Yuki Iwamura/AP
States Undocumented Students Still Have a Right to Education. Will That Change in 2026?
State-level challenges to a landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling are on the rise.
5 min read
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it is discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol Thursday in Nashville, Tenn. The bill would allow public school systems in Tennessee to require K-12 students without legal status in the country to pay tuition or face denial of enrollment, which is a challenge to the federal law requiring all children be provided a free public education regardless of legal immigration status.
Demonstrators hold up signs protesting an immigration bill as it was discussed in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on April 10, 2025. The bill, which legislators paused, would have allowed schools in the state to require undocumented students to pay tuition. It was one of six efforts taken by states in 2025 to limit undocumented students' access to free, public education.
John Amis/AP
States Obituary Four-Term North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, a Leader in Education Reform, Dies at 88
Hunt was known as a pioneer "education governor," serving 16 years in the job as North Carolina transitioned to a high-tech economy.
6 min read
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt speaks at the Democratic National Convention, Sept. 5, 2012, in Charlotte, N.C.
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 5, 2012, in Charlotte, N.C.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP