Retired Longtime Teacher and Principal Headed to Idaho State House After Strong GOP Victory
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Republican Julie Yamamoto, a teacher and principal who recently retired after a 32-year career in education, won a commanding victory Tuesday over her Democratic opponent in a race for the Idaho state House.
While Yamamoto and challenger Rebecca Yamamoto Hanson diverged on issues such as whether to allow local-option sales taxes, they aligned on others, including the need to 鈥斅營daho currently relies on bi-annual supplemental levies 鈥斅燼nd for greater bipartisanship in upcoming legislative sessions.
Both candidates also happen to share the same last name and Japanese ancestry, but are not related.
Yamamoto, the sister of a local county clerk, was the only candidate in the southwest region of the state to defeat an incumbent candidate in the primary. She second-term Republican state Rep. Jarom Wagoner by 623 votes in the June primary.
The Idaho Elections Department Tuesday night, reporting Yamamoto with a 36-percentage point lead.
Schools will be a top priority for Yamamoto as she advances to the state House in Boise.
“I believe all Idahoans want an economically vibrant state and education system,” she .
Yamamoto is one of the 25 former educators included in 社区黑料鈥檚 roundup of ex-teachers positioned to win state-level seats this Election Day. Check out the full cohort here.
2020鈥檚 KEY EDUCATION VOTES:聽See our full coverage of聽the 46 races that could reshape America鈥檚 schools聽following Election聽Day 鈥� and get the latest updates on state policies and students鈥� challenges during the pandemic by signing up for聽社区黑料 Newsletter.听
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Asher Lehrer-Small is a former staff reporter at 社区黑料. He is currently reporting on school policing in Texas as part of The New York Times' Local Investigations Fellowship.
