ICYMI: NC Dem Senate Challenger Votes Against Bipartisan School Reopening Bill

February 8, 2021
For Immediate Release

Raleigh, NC - The Washington Free Beacon reported that Cal Jr. (Jeff Jackson) denied the science and voted AGAINST reopening schools here in North Carolina. As Cal Jr. votes in the North Carolina Senate, voters will get to observe how he would vote if elected to the United States Senate. 

“Cal Jr. (Jeff Jackson) is fully committed to obeying the establishment instead of fighting for North Carolina kids,” said NCGOP Communications Director Tim Wigginton. “Cal Jr.’s  vote to keep schools closed shows that if elected, North Carolina cannot trust him to do the right thing when it counts.”

Here are some key excerpts from the Free Beacon report: 

“North Carolina Democratic Senate challenger Jeff Jackson voted against a bipartisan bill that requires school districts in the state to offer some form of in-person instruction.”

“Jackson's vote against school reopenings came just hours after CDC director Rochelle Walensky said there is ‘increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen,’ adding that the ‘vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for the safe reopening of schools.’  Former Democratic state senator Joel Ford accused Jackson of hypocrisy, noting that the Charlotte Democrat has pledged to lead with "science" and follow CDC guidelines.”

“‘For a state senator who's already declared for the U.S. Senate, I really think it's hypocritical for him to come out and say we need to follow the science, and now that the science has come out, he still voted against [reopening schools],’ Ford told the Washington Free Beacon. ‘I think it shows what's wrong with our politics—we can't play politics with families, and we definitely can't play politics with public education.’”

“Many North Carolina students have been stuck with virtual schooling throughout the pandemic as local teachers' unions pressure school boards to refrain from reopening. One Durham-based union in July demanded an array of far-left policy goals in order to hold in-person classes, including Medicare for All and ‘direct income support regardless of immigration status.’ Durham Public Schools planned to offer in-person classes for elementary, middle, and "exceptional" high school students at the time but reversed course following the union's objection.”