Progressive candidate Jill Underly, the schools chief for the rural Pecatonica School District, defeated Deborah Kerr 58-42 to become Wisconsin’s top education official. Kerr, the former head of the Brown Deer School District in the suburbs of Milwaukee, was backed by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker and charter school supporters, while Underly had the backing of almost the entire state Democratic Party. In the first round of voting in February, Underly narrowly led Kerr 27-26 in a five-way field.
Turnout was high for this off-year election: 912,678 were cast in this race, compared to the 708,289 votes tallied in 2017. This officially nonpartisan race turned into an expensive contest, with over $1 million in spending flowing in, the overwhelming majority of which was for Underly. Underly also enjoyed a wide $1.2 million to $170,000 fundraising advantage over Kerr. Underly’s dominant victory extends the streak of double-digit wins for the progressive-aligned candidate for this post that goes back to 2001.
Unsurprisingly, the COVID-era issue of schools reopening for in-person instruction was a top issue in this duel. Though the state superintendent does not have the power to make such decisions, Kerr aggressively pushed for all school districts statewide to open their doors to in-person instruction. Underly, for her part, advocated for reopenings to be based on the discretion of individual school districts. Shortly after proclaiming victory, though, she announced her support for all schools to reopen in the fall and pledged to give districts resources they need to do so successfully.