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GOP Picks Up Significant Control in State School Offices

It was a lesser-noticed but important downballot trend from election night.

One of the lesser-noticed trends benefiting the GOP on election night was a significant gain in chief state school offices.

Republicans ousted two Democratic incumbents -- Glenda Ritz in Indiana and, narrowly, June Atkinson in North Carolina. The GOP winners were Jennifer McCormick in Indiana and Mark Johnson in North Carolina.

The GOP also flipped three gubernatorial seats that have the power to appoint the chief schools officer --Missouri, New Hampshire and Vermont.

One Republican incumbent, Kirsten Baesler in North Dakota, was re-elected. Meanwhile, the Democrats salvaged one governorship that appoints the schools chief: West Virginia.

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism
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