Moms for Liberty Ad Campaign Heads to a Swing State Near You

Candidates aligned with Moms for Liberty, the far-right organization known for supporting book bans and antagonizing trans children, have taken a hit in the 2023 elections.

Following 2022, when right-wing fury and the so-called war on “wokeness” pushed Moms for Liberty-linked candidates onto school boards across the country, 2023 marked a backlash. Several Moms for Liberty candidates have lost elections, signaling weakening support for the organization, its so-called “mama bears” and the bigoted policies they support. (A sex scandal involving the organization's co-founder, Brigit Ziegler, and her husband, Christian, also does not appear to have occurred. help Moms for Liberty in the credibility department.) But this year, the organization is looking to stand out with a multimillion-dollar advertising plan targeting swing states.

In short, Moms for Liberty could be coming to a screen – or street – near you.

According to the Associated Press, “Moms for Liberty plans to spend more than $3 million on a multistate advertising campaign to increase its membership and engage voters before November.” The ad blitz is expected to target Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin, with hopes of expanding to Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania later in the year. According to AP, this campaign will include:

• Billboards that encourage parents to take control of their children's classrooms and target the Biden administration's new Title IX policies aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ students;
• Media interviews;
• Targeted digital ads;
• Email and SMS campaigns targeting potential voters.

Moms for Liberty has often been cautious about its funding, and the organization's co-founder, Tina Descovich, declined to tell the AP who helps fund the ad campaign.

Conservatives appear determined to make anti-trans intolerance a key part of their messaging this election season. I recently wrote about radio ads run by a pro-Trump super PAC, which target black communities with anti-trans and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Moms for Liberty billboards demonizing “gender confusion” show how they seek to reignite the same kind of sectarian fervor that brought some members of the organization to power in 2021.

I suppose it's possible that a critical mass of swing state voters are motivated by this MAGA-like message about suppressing educational freedom and LGBTQ children. But it seems just as likely – otherwise more likely — that last year's election rebuke of Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates in states across the country was an indicator that Americans' tolerance for the group and its tactics is waning.