It might have been the biggest upset in the entire state primary season – an incumbent who is well-financed and happens to have actual classroom experience was beaten by a polarizing candidate who home-schools her children, has never worked in public schools as an educator, and was part of the January 6th demonstration that was fueled by election denial.

Of course this teacher does not want Michele Morrow to be the top education officer in the state, but I also didn’t want Truitt, who is much more qualified on paper to run DPI, to be reelected.

Yet Morrow’s win is really not that hard to imagine when looking at Truitt’s approach to reelection. .

1. Truitt did not run a primary campaign.

Even here in Forsyth County, I never saw a campaign sign for Truitt but I saw plenty for Morrow. According to the WRAL.com report referenced in the screenshot above, Truitt had a decided advantage in funds.

That lack of actual campaigning could be indicative of an overconfident incumbent who was prepping more for a general election run against a very capable opponent in Mo Green.

2. Look at her campaign contributors.

It’s all public record and easy to find.

For 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, Truitt had 204 receipts.

But the dollar amounts and from whom they come tell a story.

The Goodnights own SAS which is EVAAS.

And many top donors are people who are from out of state and do not vote in NC. But if you’re Glenn Way, you are buying influence for more charter schools in NC.

Truitt received more money from other candidate funds and the GOP party than Morrow had in total contributions.

And then there is Art Pope.

For 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, Morrow had 223 receipts.

And they were almost all from NC voters. More people who actually cast ballots in the primaries gave to Morrow than to Truitt.

3. Truitt looks like she was a bought candidate.

From SAS/EVAAS (Goodnights) to ALEC (Saine) to the Charter School Industry (Way) to the John Locke Foundation/Civitas (Pope), Truitt looks like she was controlled by rich entities, not the people. Morrow totally looks more like the grassroots candidate and that appealed to many republican voters in the primary.

4. Truitt had no consistent platform.

When you send out a flyer in Wake County late in the primary season that looks like this:

…then you are scrambling for legitimacy.

A flyer like that is a weak reactionary attempt to appeal to people who are part of the republican base.

The accomplishments she listed also are not really accomplishments that an incumbent should claim. Truitt did not end mask mandates. She did not reopen schools. She never had that power. She did not keep boys from playing girls sports. Boys already cannot play girls sports.

And she backed a bill for rights that parents already had?

Then around the same time, she touted her observance of Black History Month after she openly called for a revision of social studies curriculum to downplay the battle for civil rights against systemic racism.

That’s a bad lesson plan, pure and simple.

Morrow showed more overall consistency in messaging. That’s a large part of why she won.

But Morrow is not a person who should in any way be allowed to craft policy for public schools come November.