Gallup: Republican Parents Take Sharp Turn against Common Core

Though many parent activist groups fighting the Common Core standards are comprised of both Republican and Democrat voters, Republican parents with children in public schools are sharply turning against the controversial nationalized standards.

According to a new Gallup poll, 58 percent of Republican parents now hold a negative view of the Common Core standards, an increase from 42 percent in an April poll. Only 19 percent of GOP parents view the standards positively.

In contrast, the poll finds 48 percent of Democrats with children view the Common Core positively, with 23 percent viewing it negatively. Democrat parent support for the standards has increased three percentage points since the April poll.

When political affiliation is not a factor, Gallup’s survey finds that 35 percent of parents overall view the Common Core negatively, while 33 percent have a positive view of the standards.

Perhaps most significant is the finding that now nearly half (49 percent) of public school parents say they have heard a great deal or fair amount about the Common Core standards, an increase from 38 percent in the April poll.

“The data suggest that this increase in awareness has led to an increase in negativity,” states Gallup, adding:

This might not be the end of major opposition among the states. Common Core has been an issue in many of the gubernatorial elections taking place this November, the outcomes of which could affect how the standards are implemented–if at all. In New York and Connecticut, the rollout of Common Core has become an issue for the Democratic governors who supported it, and has given some ammunition to their Republican challengers who oppose the initiative.

As Breitbart News reported in July, during the summer meetings of the National Governors Association–one of the owners of the copyright to the Common Core standards–many governors preferred not to speak about the controversial education initiative, referring to it, instead, as politically “radioactive,” “divisive,” and “toxic.”

Nevertheless, some Republican governors have attempted to camouflage their support of the Common Core standards by simply “rebranding” them with a new, local name to continue to obtain federal waivers and funding.

Paul LePage of Maine, who is in a three-way election race, is the most recent Republican governor to publicly announce he no longer supports the Common Core standards.