Alabama Education Association Contributions to Statewide Elected Officials and Legislators
API researched the latest data on direct Alabama Education Association (AEA) contributions and recipients. AEA was the single largest contributor to Republicans in the last election cycle, despite the decades-old standing rule admonishing elected officials who run as Republicans to refrain from taking campaign money from the AEA.
In 2022-2023, AEA gave members of the Alabama House of Representatives at least $875,000 in direct contributions. In 2022, AEA gave members of the Alabama Senate an estimated $682,500 in direct contributions. Over the political life of the current members of the Alabama House of Representatives, AEA has given to 85 of the 105 members to the tune of $2,449,000. In addition, seven State Senators have refused direct contributions from AEA; the total amount contributed to current Alabama Senators since they have run for or been elected to the state senate is $1,510,000.
Several current statewide elected officials have also accepted AEA contributions, totaling $55,000 in 2022 and $195,000 since first running for office.
AEA is the Alabama state affiliate of the National Education Association (https://www.nea.org/nea-affil
AEA proudly attacks every single tax cut that impacts the Education Trust Fund – their lobbyists testified against cutting the grocery tax and the elimination of the overtime tax in the 2022 Regular session. Additionally, AEA testified against the universal school choice bill multiple times and crowed loudly that it was to be congratulated for its legislative demise. In fact, after declaring school choice a “danger to Alabama schools” and “a zombie from a horror movie”, AEA claimed to have single-handedly killed the universal school choice bill in 2022, “SB202, the School Voucher Bill, also known as the PRICE Act, by Sen. Larry Stutts, is officially DEAD! With your help, AEA worked tirelessly to defeat this legislation, as it would have been detrimental to the ETF and students in Alabama” in their weekly newsletter (https://myaea.org & https://digital.myaea.org/Ala
Though AEA attempts to use the fact that many of the teachers that are members of their labor union vote Republican, in a Republican supermajority state that is statistically unsurprising. Further, AEA’s declaration that they represent Republican values rings hollow when there is a modicum of analysis regarding the legislation that they attempt to pass or kill. AEA may technically represent and/or support “Republicans”, but they certainly don’t support any of the tenants of conservatism or the mission of the Alabama Policy Institute: free markets, limited government or family values.
API researched the latest data on direct Alabama Education Association (AEA) contributions and recipients. AEA was the single largest contributor to Republicans in the last election cycle, despite the decades-old standing rule admonishing elected officials who run as Republicans to refrain from taking campaign money from the AEA.
In 2022-2023, AEA gave members of the Alabama House of Representatives at least $875,000 in direct contributions. In 2022, AEA gave members of the Alabama Senate an estimated $682,500 in direct contributions. Over the political life of the current members of the Alabama House of Representatives, AEA has given to 85 of the 105 members to the tune of $2,449,000. In addition, seven State Senators have refused direct contributions from AEA; the total amount contributed to current Alabama Senators since they have run for or been elected to the state senate is $1,510,000.
Several current statewide elected officials have also accepted AEA contributions, totaling $55,000 in 2022 and $195,000 since first running for office.
AEA is the Alabama state affiliate of the National Education Association (https://www.nea.org/nea-affil
AEA proudly attacks every single tax cut that impacts the Education Trust Fund – their lobbyists testified against cutting the grocery tax and the elimination of the overtime tax in the 2022 Regular session. Additionally, AEA testified against the universal school choice bill multiple times and crowed loudly that it was to be congratulated for its legislative demise. In fact, after declaring school choice a “danger to Alabama schools” and “a zombie from a horror movie”, AEA claimed to have single-handedly killed the universal school choice bill in 2022, “SB202, the School Voucher Bill, also known as the PRICE Act, by Sen. Larry Stutts, is officially DEAD! With your help, AEA worked tirelessly to defeat this legislation, as it would have been detrimental to the ETF and students in Alabama” in their weekly newsletter (https://myaea.org & https://digital.myaea.org/Ala
Though AEA attempts to use the fact that many of the teachers that are members of their labor union vote Republican, in a Republican supermajority state that is statistically unsurprising. Further, AEA’s declaration that they represent Republican values rings hollow when there is a modicum of analysis regarding the legislation that they attempt to pass or kill. AEA may technically represent and/or support “Republicans”, but they certainly don’t support any of the tenants of conservatism or the mission of the Alabama Policy Institute: free markets, limited government or family values.