Who will lead NC public schools? The superintendent’s race could go down to the wire.

North Carolina voters appear to be as divided as the two candidates who are waging a contentious fight to lead the state’s public schools.

Multiple polls show Democrat Mo Green has a 2-to-3-point lead over Republican Michele Morrow in the race for state superintendent of public instruction. The race has received more attention than normal for a down-ballot race due to CNN’s coverage of Morrow’s history of controversial social media posts.

“The polls look a little better for Green than Morrow,” Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, said in an interview. “If these trends continue, you have to consider Green a slight favorite. That said, this is a purple state defined by tight margins so anything can happen.”

Green is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, the state’s third-largest school district. He is the former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a group that funds progressive causes.

Morrow is a registered nurse, conservative activist, homeschool parent and former Christian missionary. Morrow defeated incumbent Superintendent Catherine Truitt in the March GOP primary.

Morrow and Green have polar opposite views

The candidates have polar opposite views on a number of education issues. The election results will say a lot about how North Carolinians value public education, according to David McLennan, a political science professor at Meredith College

Morrow supports expansion of the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program and says public schools should better spend the money they now have instead of getting additional dollars. Morrow is also opposed to the Biden’s Administration expansion of Title IX protection for transgender students.

Morrow has told her supporters “this is the American Revolution 2.0,” “we either willingly fight now, or we will be forced to fight on Nov 6th” and “this is war.”

“Morrow represents the Moms for Liberty side of the education debate,” McLennan said in an interview. “She was at Jan. 6th. She’s made posts that are unbelievable.”

Green opposes expansion of the state’s private school voucher program and says state lawmakers aren’t providing enough money for public schools. Green also says that schools should strive to allow transgender students to participate in school activities in a safe and welcoming environment.

Green has told supporters that “the very soul of public education is on the ballot this November.”

“If Green were to win, people would see it as ‘yes we still value K-12 public education and we don’t’ want to take it on the path that it’s been on the last few education cycles,’” McLennan said.

Candidates call each other extreme

Both candidates have tried to paint the other as too extreme to become superintendent of the state’s 1.5 million public school students.

Green has run campaign ads pointing to Morrow’s past social media posts about killing Democrats such as former President Barack Obama and encouraging former President Donald Trump to use the military to stay in power in 2021.

Green also has pointed to statements Morrow has made such as calling public schools “an absolute cesspool of evil and lies.”

Morrow has focused on donations that the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation gave during Green’s tenure to “leftist” groups that are concerned about issues such as Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+, social justice and systemic racism.

Morrow has highlighted grants to groups such as the Education Justice Alliance, which has called for replacing school resource officers with counselors in Wake County schools.

Are voters paying attention to the election?

Calling Green an extremist may not resonate with voters who aren’t already Morrow’s supporters, according to McLennan, the political science professor. McLennan said that it’s a standard line being used by Republican candidates against their Democratic opponents.

But Green’s attacks against Morrow may not have as much of an impact due to all the attention on the presidential and gubernatorial races, according to Cooper, the political science professor.

“Most voters are unaware that they’re voting for a superintendent of public instruction, much less who is running and what their views may be,” Cooper said.

Cooper said the superintendent’s race may come down to who wins the presidential ballot. Even then, Cooper noted that the state’s voters have a history of splitting their tickets, such as in 2020 when Democrats won four Council of State races even though Trump took the state.

“It’s going to be a fairly close election, more so than a few other offices,” Cooper said. “The candidates have differentiated themselves from each other.”