NC SEN: Is Thom Tillis in the Tank for Common Core?

Endorsement from Common Core cheerleaders Jeb Bush and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce bring Tillis’ education policies into question

Washington, DC- Since Thom Tillis gained the endorsement of outspoken Common Core advocate Jeb Bush, his commitment to repealing the government education takeover is called into question. Bush is a leading spokesman on behalf of Common Core, a set of government-mandated education standards that strip away the rights of parents. His support of Thom Tillis followed an endorsement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, another promoter of Common Core.

FreedomWorks for America Director of Grassroots Whitney Neal commented, "Thom Tillis continually proves that special interest groups are more important to him than the people of North Carolina. With this Jeb Bush endorsement, Tillis aligns himself with another supporter of Common Core, a program that the people of North Carolina have loudly rejected."

Neal continued, “The question remains- will Thom Tillis answer to the special interest groups that funded him on the campaign trail, or the people of North Carolina? With endorsements like Jeb Bush and the Chamber of Commerce, the answer is clear.”

Conservative grassroots activists in North Carolina overwhelmingly oppose the Common Core standards. Local education reform activist Pattie Curran commented, "I oppose Common Core because it takes local control away from our schools and gives it to an out-of -touch, overreaching federal government.”

Judy Carter, a North Carolinian who taught for 26 years and a mother and grandmother of four, added, “Common Core takes away the creativity and individuality of child and makes testing, not learning, the objective. Educators cannot tweak the standards or change them if they aren’t effective. We need to fight one-size-fits-all education before it is too late.”

Tillis was Speaker of the North Carolina State House when Common Core was implemented. While Tillis says he wants to do away with Common Core, he accepts the endorsement of its champions with open arms and has been virtually silent in the debate over education reform.

FreedomWorks for America is a grassroots service center to a community of over 6 million activists supporting candidates who believe in individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government. For more information, please visit www.FreedomWorksForAmerica.org or contact Jackie Bodnar at JBodnar@FreedomWorks.org.