The 116th Congress was only sworn in a few weeks ago; in the House, Democratic leaders are still assigning members to key committees and subcommittees.
The strikes inspired support on social media and among voters, who helped pave the way for the Democratic Party’s 40-seat gain in the House last November.
Still, Democrats are facing pressure to act on the issue, after siding with teachers who staged a rising number of strikes since last year — in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and most recently California, as well as a possible repeat in Colorado, where teachers already walked out last April. The strikes inspired support on social media — spawning the #RedForED hashtag — and among voters, who helped pave the way for the Democratic Party’s 40-seat gain in the House last November. One educator even joined their ranks; Jahana Hayes, the 2016 Teacher of the Year, was elected to Congress by the state of Connecticut.
The party leaned on the issue in high-profile governors’ races as well, including in Wisconsin, where the state’s superintendent of public instruction, Democrat Tony Evers, unseated the incumbent Republican Scott Walker.