NJ Education Report

Today’s Wall Street Journal article on Gov. Christie’s speech at the annual WSJ CEO Council describes his gubernatorial victory earlier this month as “demographic-defying” because “he captured large shares of women and minorities.”

A little glib, no?

For various reasons deconstructed ad nauseum in the press (and here), Sen. Barbara Buono was a weak and poorly-supported candidate, particularly on education issues. While one of her strongest advocates and campaign funders was the New Jersey Education Association, Buono’s educational agenda was so last-century: anti-choice, anti-tenure reform, anti-fiscal efficiency. (Okay, pro-preschool, but who’s counting.) Buono was the anti-education reform candidate.

“Women and minorities,” if you’ll excuse the reductionism, tend to support progressive, equitable, and inclusive approaches to education. In many cases, this includes not confining children to dysfunctional school districts with decades of failure and using resources effectively.

Christie’s victory wasn’t “demographic-defying.” It was Jersey Blue.