NJ teachers union spent $40 million on primary election loss

It was a $40 million fifth-place finish. The New Jersey Education Association tried to make

its own president the state's next governor, and despite being by far and away the biggest spender

Sean Spiller finished next to last in the Democratic primary. According to New Jersey Spotlight News, the union got the money from member dues

NJEA has 200,000 members, charges about $1,100 for an annual professional membership

which covers teachers, administrators, nurses, and counselors, while a supportive membership for

custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and secretaries costs $520. Spiller received approximately 86,000 votes, which brings the total cost per vote to about $465. The money came from

an independent committee that's funded by the union, according to NJ Spotlight. While Spiller

received the most outside spending, his campaign raised and spent the least of all candidates by

far. Figures from the NJ Monitor show while the top candidate campaigns spent between $7 and $9

million, Spiller's raised a grand total $438,000 and as of May 27th had spent only $342,000

The union is trying to frame this as a positive saying it brought attention to the issues that are important to teachers Spiller said of the spending spree When it one of our own when it an educator when it us all of a sudden it a big story

Why do we always have to hand it to someone else for it to be okay

We decided we don't have to do that. The NJEA does have a history of political advocacy

Spent $15 million over three years helping Governor Phil Murphy's 2021 re-election

In May 2024, the union's Super PAC committed to spending $40 million on behalf of whichever candidate it decided to endorse

Spiller declared his candidacy a month later and got the endorsement. There are mixed reactions to Spiller's campaign and associated spending

Spanish teacher Dan Siegel told NJSpotlight, We're putting the issues out in the forefront and I think that forced the other candidates to say

oh geez, these educator issues are important. Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Robovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, stated

I don't think there's any evidence I can find that it led to a bigger discussion on the plight of teachers

It didn't lead to, I think, an improved climate for teachers. Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill won the Democratic gubernatorial primary

and former Assemblyman Jack Cittarelli won the Republican nomination. The general election is Tuesday, November 4th

I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Hour News. For more reporting, download the SAN app