Katie Blaxberg
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2024 - Present
2028
0
Katie Blaxberg is a member of the Pinellas County Schools school board in Florida, representing District 5. She assumed office on November 19, 2024. Her current term ends on November 21, 2028.
Blaxberg ran for election to the Pinellas County Schools school board to represent District 5 in Florida. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
2024 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the November 5 general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Katie Blaxberg defeated Stacy Geier in the general election for one seat on the seven-member Pinellas County School Board in Florida on November 5, 2024.[1]
Pinellas County Schools is located in Pinellas County, Florida. The district served 93,702 students during the 2022-2023 school year. The elections for two other seats on the board were decided in the August 20, 2024, primary election, when candidates for each received a majority of votes cast. The filing deadline for this election was June 14, 2024.
Florida Politics' Janelle Irwin Taylor wrote the elections "came at a time when School Boards throughout the nation are being targeted in ways rarely seen in the past."[2] The group Moms for Liberty endorsed a candidate in this election, and two affiliated members sat on the Pinellas County School Board.[3] Moms for Liberty's website said they are "dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."[4] Heading into the August primary, the school board consisted of a majority of non-Moms for Liberty affiliated members, but would have shifted to a majority of Moms for Liberty-affiliated candidates if at least two of their endorsed candidates won.[5] Of three candidates, two affiliated candidates lost in primaries, and one headed to a runoff.
In District 5, Katie Blaxberg and Stacy Geier ran for an open seat. Incumbent Carol Cook retired from public office. Geir was endorsed by Moms for Liberty and Blaxberg received the endorsement of primary opponent, Democrat Brad DeCorte.[6][7]
Geier was a businesswoman.[8] Geier's website said she wanted to "give parents back their rights through reducing the authority of un-elected bureaucrats," and "trim the budget of unnecessary spending to improve support for teachers."[9] Tampa Bay Times' Jeffrey S. Solochek wrote Geier "says her views align with Moms for Liberty, a group that has gained increasing influence over state and national education policy.[10] In addition to Moms for Liberty, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R) endorsed her campaign.[6]
Blaxberg was a teacher and former legislative aide to former state representative and Pinellas County Commissioner Christopher Latvala (R). Blaxberg's website said that she was "a proponent of school choice and understands that one size doesn’t fit every child. Ensuring access to resources, educating parents on the varieties of schools and educational opportunities available to them through the Pinellas County School District, in addition to making the process easier to navigate is a top priority."[11] The Times' Jeffrey S. Solochek wrote that Blaxberg "has taken a more expansive view of the parental rights movement, saying it’s important to increase involvement in schools and to not allow a 'small, very loud minority...take up all the air in the room.'"[10] Incumbent Carol Cook, primary challenger Brad DeCorte, and the local teachers union endorsed Blaxberg's campaign.[6]
In addition to Stacy Geier, Ron DeSantis endorsed Danielle Marolf and Erika Picard, both of whom challenged incumbents Laura Hine and Eileen Long, respectively, and lost in the primary.[12] DeSantis said he wanted to support candidates "who have pledged to serve with a focus on student success, parental rights, and curriculum transparency. We want the best for our children and I'm confident all 23 candidates will build upon the success we've had here in Florida."[13] In response, Pinellas Democratic Party chair Jennifer Griffith endorsed Hine and Long and said, "We’re ensuring we do not get someone supported by Moms for Liberty in our seat. Those school board members stood up for some serious stuff."[14]
Elections
2024
See also: Pinellas County Schools, Florida, elections (2024)
General election
General election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 5
Katie Blaxberg defeated Stacy Geier in the general election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Katie Blaxberg (Nonpartisan) | 52.1 | 49,272 | |
| Stacy Geier (Nonpartisan) | 47.9 | 45,366 | ||
| Total votes: 94,638 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 5
Stacy Geier and Katie Blaxberg defeated Brad S. DeCorte in the primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 5 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stacy Geier (Nonpartisan) | 37.2 | 12,835 | |
| ✔ | Katie Blaxberg (Nonpartisan) | 34.5 | 11,925 | |
| Brad S. DeCorte (Nonpartisan) | 28.3 | 9,756 | ||
| Total votes: 34,516 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Blaxberg in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Katie Blaxberg did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Pinellas County Schools school board District 5 |
Officeholder Pinellas County Schools school board District 5 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Pinellas OKs school property tax measure; GOP extends hold on commission," November 6, 2024
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Moms for Liberty candidates seek conservative majority on Pinellas School Board, must get through opposition," August 19, 2024
- ↑ Sun Coast News, "Pinellas teachers challenge 2 school board members tied to Moms for Liberty," June 29, 2023
- ↑ Moms for Liberty, "About," accessed October 31, 2024
- ↑ Tampa Bay Newspapers. "Conservative activists seek to flip Pinellas County School Board," January 16, 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Tampa Bay Times, "Moderate, conservative forces square off in Pinellas school board race," September 21, 2024
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Katie Blaxberg faces criticism for once being a Democrat, but her reason is hauntingly familiar for too many women," May 13, 2024
- ↑ Stacy Geier 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed October 28, 2024
- ↑ Stacy Geier 2024 campaign website, "Platform," accessed October 28, 2024
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tampa Bay Times, "Here’s one Pinellas school board race that’s already turning ugly," October 13, 2024
- ↑ Katie Blaxberg 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed October 28, 2024
- ↑ Politico, "DeSantis takeover of Florida school boards has big setback," August 20, 2024
- ↑ X, "Ron DeSantis on July 19, 2024" accessed October 29, 2024
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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